TRANSPORTATION. 
51 
exclusive business ] It affords me pleasure to discern so no- 
ble a streak in human nature. They only keep bees for the 
use of their families and their friends. Many seem glad to 
give away all the honey they do not actually need. It is 
common to give a swarm of bees to those who wish to make 
a start, or to tell them to take a hive, and if they do well they 
may give them a swarm some time. Men generally do not 
value bees for the money that is in them, but as they do a 
choice horse, or other favorite animal. They love to sit or lie 
beside them to hear and watch them. There is something 
there that charms. 
Why do not females engage in bee-culture? They can 
manage it as well as males. I know some that are making 
a good business out of it. This would add another to the va- 
riety of female employments, which will tend to enhance their 
wages. 
TRANSPORTATION. 
I have assisted in preparing bees for shipment to Califor- 
nia, and have sent hives of bees to the different States, and 
moved a great many a short distance by rail road and by pri- 
vate conveyance, and know that with proper care bees can be 
shipped most any distance, and know also that with bad care 
they can be destroyed in a very short journey. Two things 
are to be guarded against — smothering and breaking of 
combs. 
Bees should not be moved in hot weather. Spring is a 
better time than fall, as the combs are not so likely to be 
broken from the weight of honey. The older the combs the 
less likeiy they are to break. If the weather is very cold, 
stir the bees up an hour or two before starting to haul them. 
In very cold weather the combs are quite brittle. The ex- 
citement among the bees caused by shaking them will gener- 
ate heat in the hive and make the combs tough. 
Carry them on a spring wagon, a sled, or the cars. Invert 
the hive, tie or tack a thin cloth over the mouth of it, and 
haul it bottom up in order that tho weight of the honey may 
rest on the lid of the hive. Combs are not nearly so likely 
to break if the hive is inverted. If the combs are broken 
in hauling, leave thS hive inverted until the combs are united 
by the bees. If tho combs uro fallen out of place, straighten 
