THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



269 



ihc swarmin.y pt-riocl ^diiu-what sooner, 

 say the lallcr part of May. and. what 

 is more to tlio jioint, recovers troni its 

 swarming t\\er sooner and is ready for 

 the storage of iioncy se\eral weeks 

 I)rior to tiie type of colony taken as the 

 average, e. g.. the colony represented by 

 the cur\-e .IBC. 



Xow. if. in addition to late snnimer 

 and antanin breeding, the colony be 

 given suitable protection in tlie pr(.)per 

 manner adapted to the two-fold pur- 

 pose of retaining the colony heat gen- 

 erated, and of permitting the free pass- 

 age outward of moisture, the colony's 

 activities approach more nearl_\- the 

 curve AEGC in which the decline in 

 munbers is slower. ne\'er so great as is 

 especially noticeable at the usual critical 

 time in February and March, and the 

 sw-arming period is not only sooner 

 reached Ijut much more vigorously 

 reached, resulting in the casting of a 

 more populous swarm ( the relative size 

 of swarms being indicated in the dia- 

 gram by the vertical lines GH. FH and 

 BH respectixely ). which swarm may be 

 gotten in shape for the honey Iiarvest 

 in June and July along with the parent 

 colony. 



STIMULATIVE FEEDING ADVISEn. 



To keep bees lireeding during the au- 

 tumn months, stimulative feeding may 

 be practiced, care being taken to guard 

 against rol^bing. Each colony should 

 have a young vigorous queen and in 

 localities where the nights are cool 

 extra care must lie taken to guard 

 against the escape of heat. Top stories 

 should early be removed in order to 

 prevent the bees from storing their 

 winter supply of honey in a scattered 

 manner, and. if queen-excluders are not 

 used, in order to head off the queen's 

 organizing her brood nest in the warm- 

 er regions above. In milder climates 

 where it is the practice to leave top- 

 stories on the hives for the protection 

 of the combs it will be found economi- 



cal to interchange the stories, placing 

 the brood ciiamlier above for the win- 

 ter months, 'i'lie amount of honey or 

 stores necessary to successful winter- 

 ing varies greatly in accordance to the 

 [jrotcction given tlie bees. If adequate 

 protection be gi\en the colony, bees 

 will winter successfully on about what 

 they actually need for their consump- 

 tion, or about twelve to tifteen pounds 

 of honey. With less protecticin more 

 honey is consumed in the jjroduction 

 of heat to re])lace that which escapes; 

 and in milder climates the greater ac- 

 tivity on the part of the bees during 

 the winter months leads likewise to a 

 greater consumption of stores. The re- 

 sult is that twenty to thirty pounds is 

 more nearlv the amount to lie left for 

 wintering. There are man_\- friends to 

 the wintering of bees on greater quan- 

 tities of honey, forty pounds or more ; 

 and the adherents of stores in super- 

 abundance point to their success in win- 

 tering as proof of their case. We main- 

 tain, howe^ier, that the wintering of 

 bees on an excess of stores is a prac- 

 tice tliat the a\erage l)ee-keeper can ill 

 afford, for it is entirel}' unnecessary if 

 the proper protection be given the 

 liees. The presence of solid sheets of 

 honey in the colony serves as a great 

 holder ot heat and evener of tempera- 

 ture, an.d herein lies the value of an 

 extra a'nundance of stores. Just as good 

 success in wintering can be attained, 

 and much more economically attained, 

 on less stores if protection be given the 

 colony in the shape of several inches of 

 continuous and moisture-transmitting 

 packing about and close to the cluster. 

 The effectiveness of packing is greatly 

 increased if it is close to the cluster, 

 that is, separated from the bees by the 

 least possible obstruction, nothing more 

 than a heavy grade of canvas or duck. 

 For colder climates we recommend 

 placing the frames on end and across 

 the entrance in what the Germans call 



