206 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February 



result from its use are both straight and of even thickness, as 

 well as being all worker comb, a feature which has a most 

 important bearing on the economic side of bee-keeping. Another 

 point in favor of its use is the great saving of lime to the bees, 

 and time in their case means honey. If a strong swarm of bees 

 is provided with a hive containing eight frames filled with 

 comb foundation, it is almost certain that within 24 hours 

 they will be found perfectly elaborated or drawn out into cells, 

 so rapidly do the bees work. If on the other hand they are 

 provided with empty frames or frames containing small 

 "starters" of foundation, it is probable that six or seven days 

 at least will elapse before the combs are completed, and during 

 this time a large number of bees are devoting their time and 

 energy to comb building instead of gathering honey. 



In this portion of the Dominion owing to the length and 

 severity of the winters, bees have to be safely housed during at 

 least five months of the year, generally from about November 

 1st to April 1st. During this period of enforced idleness the 

 bees cluster on and between the combs in a more or less oval 

 mass in close proximity to the honey on which they have to 

 feed. Not onlv do they occupy every bit of space between 

 the combs, but, in order to make the mass more compact, nearly 

 every cell in the area of comb on which the bees are clustering 

 contains a bee, these bees having entered the cells head first. 

 That they do not remain in the cells all winter is obvious as 

 they must come out to feed, but it is presumed that others 

 take their place. The anaount of food consumed during the 

 winter varies considerably with the conditions under which 

 the bees are wintered the colder their winter quarters are, the 

 more honey they will consume. Twenty-five pounds of honey 

 is considered to be a safe amount to carry any hive through the 

 winter and also to provide for the early spring, when little 

 nectar is available in the flowers. It must not be supposed 

 that the bees are in a torpid state during their period of rest, 

 as, though in a quiescent condition, they are very much alive 

 if disturbed. It is of the greatest importance that bees should 

 winter well, that is to say, with a minimum of loss as regards 

 dead bees. Weak colonies in the spring are scarcely 

 worth keeping as honey producers ; it is better to take two or 

 three weak hives and unite them, thus making one profitable 

 colony, rather than to allow each of them to gradually dwindle 

 away_ until they cease to exist, which is the usual fate of weak 

 colonies. After bees are once housed for the winter the less 

 they are disturbed the better, and while they do not appear to 

 notice ordinary sounds the slightest jarring sensation irritates 



