THOUSAND ANSWERS 
263 
will not drink it. As in so many other things, prevention is bet- 
ter than cure. In the spring, when bees first begin to get water, 
do all you can to prevent their getting a start in the wrong place, 
and to start them in the right place. In a sheltered place where 
the sun will keep it warm, put a tub or pail of water, throw over 
i: some cork chips, such as grocers get as packing in kegs of 
grapes, and you will have a watering place where no bees will 
drown, and all you will need to do will be to fill up occasionally 
with water. Once started there, they will be likely to continue. 
One would be likely to think the bees would prefer the nearby 
irrigating ditch to the water trough farther away. But bees do 
not object to a considerable distance, and it is possible that the 
trough gives better footing for the bees, and that the water in 
it is warmer than in the ditch. 
Water for Bees — Cork Chips. — Q. What size of cork chips do 
you use in water to keep bees from getting drowned? Also, about 
how thick is the layer of corks on top of the water? I am trying 
to get cork chips here. I can get granulated cork, of which I have 
samples, Nos. 2, 3 and 4. Watering bees in this locality is quite an 
item. My 75 colonies get away with as high as 60 gallons per day. 
I have to haul it all. I have been using a large trough filled with 
brickbats, but the brickbats take up almost all of the space. I 
also tried second-hand corks (cut them up), but in a few days the 
water would be foul; mostly wine corks. I am sending samples 
of cork chips. Should they be finer, or coarser, etc? (California.) 
A. I don’t believe it makes so very much difference as to the 
size of the cork chips, although I suppose the finest chips will 
lose their buoyancy soonest. Neither does it matter greatly as 
to the depth of the layer, only so it be not so thin that the bees 
will sink down into the water, nor so thick that they cannof reach 
the water. The chips I have been using are those which the 
grocers receive as packing in kegs of grapes that come in winter, 
or at least very late in the fall. The chips are of various diame- 
ters, from very fine ones, up to those that are one-eighth inch or 
more in diameter. A layer about three-quarters inch deep is 
first used, and more added later as they become soaked. The idea 
is to have enough chips so that the top surface will be a little out 
of the water. Although I never tried that size, I suspect that the 
coarsest you send (something like one-quarter inch in diameter) 
would be ideal. 
Water, Bees Near. — Q. (a) Would bees be likely to do well 
near a large body of water, or would they be likely to fall into the 
lake? 
