OUTDOOR WINTERING OF BEES. 1l 
well supplied with honey. Since there is more space to keep warm, 
such a hive should be more thoroughly insulated. If this plan is 
followed, the beekeeper is sure that sufficient stores are available and 
he can probably locate any queenless colonies by a brief external ex- 
amination. Since wintering in two-hive bodies has not been prac- 
ticed extensively, it should be tried with caution, but reports of this 
method should be available from all parts of the country and bee- 
keepers are urged to try it on an experimental scale. The plan has 
much to commend it. 
Providing a windbreak.—It is well established that a windbreak 
of evergreens is superior to’ a solid windbreak such as a house or 
solid fence. The beekeeper can readily determine whether his bees 
are located in a place where the wind rarely or never blows more 
than 5 miles an hour in winter. If the apiary is not so located, it 
should be moved during the summer to a place in the woods, in a 
gully, or in some other sheltered place. Bees should never be moved 
in winter. If it is not practicable to move the apiary, a high fence, 
perhaps 8 feet high, should be constructed on the exposed sides. The 
more compact the apiary, the easier it is to construct a windbreak, 
which is an argument for placing colonies in groups of four. Ever- 
greens are slow gtowing, and a high fence may be used until the 
_ permanent windbreak is sufficient. If the apiary is practically sur- 
rounded by buildings, this may be adequate protection, but such a 
location is usually not the most convenient for the apiary. A south- 
ern exposure is usually recommended as best for winter, for it is 
claimed that the heat of the sun is beneficial. Since the sun shines 
only a small fraction of the time in winter in most localities, espe- 
cially in the East, where there is much cloudy weather, this feature 
should not be unduly emphasized. 
PROVIDING ADEQUATE WINTER STORES. 
The amount of honey that a colony will need from the time it is 
packed until it is unpacked can not be closely estimated. The aim 
of the beekeeper in winter should be to save bees rather than honey, 
and he can make no more profitable investment than to give his 
bees more than they can possibly use. Some beekeepers claim that 
it is best to have the old bees die soon, so as to save stores. The 
actual consumption in such badly wintered apiaries is probably not 
at all decreased. 
If the bees do not have sufficient stores, they may be given combs 
of honey, but these should always be given before cold weather, so 
that a proper clustering space may be formed by the moving of 
honey, since bees always cluster in empty cells of the comb adjacent 
to stores. 
