Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-08-11
Owner Of Industry Can Move
Hives Around as Business
Makes Demands.
MUCH BETTER THAN HORSES
Mans Best Friend" Does
Not Like to Get Stung
and Runs Away.
my ALnERr MARrLEl

\
inocd into the lifo Of tho honey bee,
which was effected a short time ago
out In southern California. the bee
didn't know what It really was to
work This may seem TO be long
statement, Ia view OF the fact that
tho bee ~ claimed 10 be about the
busiest thing In the world. but this
article viii prove II TO be a fact. this
only going to demonstrate the use
fulness and prnctloablllty OF the
power driven truck In an entirely
now line Of ondeayor.
Il H generally acknowledged by
the bee keeper, and especially the
man who is located In southern Cali
fornia, where practically all the year
is summer time" that bees can not
do their best work If-uhsy are per-
mitted TO remain in one place the
year around They generally feed
FOR n radius OF two or three miles Of
their hives and let II go at that For
this reason they either do lot OF
unnecessary work In going over
flowers that have already been
4 "drahod" or they cultivate the habit
of lying around idle. which is any
thing but desirable. For this reason
a bee keeper of southern California
has devised the idea OF moving his
colonies of bees from place 20 place
by motor truck 40 that they may get
Ian -
Ing seasons In the various districts.
The process OF moving the bees from
! place TO place In not strictly new, but
the moving OF them by motor truck
puts new impetus into the business.
Heretofore, whore the sghlves were
moved tho work was done by horse
and wagon and by freight. which
was exceedingly tedious and sxpen-
sive The joltlng wagons broks
down tho comb structures IN the
hives and the long confinement
while the journey was IN progress
always Rilled a large number OF the
bees ana thereby weakened the
colonies. IL Ia interesting 70 con-
trast the old method OF moving tho
bees and the up-t0-date progress,
which has been adopted by l. r..
Mercer ~ Castsic. Cal.
After securing the ton and a half
Republic chassis Mr. Mercer con-
structed a little house upon n. fit
ted"it with screen windows The
house has a carrying capacity OF 100
hives at a time. In early spring OF
each year Mr.. Mercer conveys his
hives by truck from the homo ranch
iu Casiaic canyon 10 the foothiil Just
above ulendora, something like "a
lmiles away, where there are hun
dreds Of acres OF orange groves. the
blossoms OF which trees make spisn-
did pasture for the bees On this
ground this spring tho $40 hives Of
bees owned by Mr.. Mercer gathered
between five and six tons OF this
orange blossom honey.
Hives Moved 90 Miles.
ny the aid of the motor truck tho
moving OF these boea IN carried on
with remarkable speed and without
the loss OF a single hee. The proced~
IRE il about as follows; After the
bees have done their days work and
have retired for the night, the own
er carefully closes the entrance OF
tho hives and places them gently
within the truck, each load consist
ing of 100 hives, The transporting
operation H.. done at night. 50 that
while the bees 20 TO bed nc Castaic.
they wake up la Glendora, "a miles
away A. Il is a smooth road all
the way the bees and hives and the
combs are In no way damaged In
three nights tho entire aplary IL
moved from one place 20 the other.
Whom the honey season at Glendorn
Is ended the bees are transferred TO
Tho Ventura section. where they are
permitted 90 remain during the sum
d mcr season. when tho Thousands OF
acres ~ bean blossoms are available.
After the bean blossom season the
bees are carried again TO their home
ranch In the Cnstaic canyon. whore
. they feed on tho blossoms OF thee
SAGE brush
Not only ia this motor truck used
Iug means pf transporting tho hives
from place 10 place, but II Is the
| wnrkhouse or extractor house, as Il
| is known. The room is equipped
with q power extractor. driven by a
gasoline engine ny having tho
/ truck 70 equipped II is not necessary
/ tu move the hives heavy with honey,
| hut before each move the honey Ia
extracted and ahipped from the
nearest station. The extractor house
may ho bhtheo flEut hF 70 INV niNta
40 that II IL always ready and CON
venient It's several open sides are
screened 80 as TO exclude othe bees
while the workman n busy,
By moving the bees from one sec
/ tion 20 another the bee man secures
almost three times the honey each
year that he would receive were they
! permitted 10 remaln In one place.
! This. however. In not the only ad
vantage derived from this moving
stunt II has been definitely learned
that the colonies grow stronger with
the early pasture that the orange
blossoms afford. so that Instead OF
becoming run down In health on Rc-
count Of the additional work. the
bees. because Or having a richer
pasture, are always kept az FUN
strength Although OF better qual
lity the sage brush honey In consld-
erably harder 90 gather and Il has
been found that the bees 40 much
hotter work in the sage brush after
they hava had season Ia the
oranges oT beans than they did
4 when they were kept aanstantly IA
the canyon