BEES. 899 



independence of each row, so that examination may be made when any particular hive 

 requires it. A good method is to raise the honey board, and place narrow slats across the 

 frames, and then place these on a warm quilt or cloth, which will absorb moisture and allow 

 some ventilation. The entrance of the hives should not be closed, but left as for summer 

 work. If rats and mice abound, cats should be employed to rid the cellar of them, but the 

 entrances must not be closed on any account. 



The ventilation of the cellar must be carefully attended to. Besides the regular means 

 used for the purpose, as the weather moderates towards spring, the windows of the cellar 

 should be opened after dark at evening and then closed before it is light in the morning. A 

 good bee-house for wintering the whole stock is the best, but the cost of such would be an 

 objection with many. The odor of a hive is the best indication of its healthfulness. &quot;Where 

 it is at all bad, give more ventilation and resort to feeding. Bees should not be taken from 

 their cellar quarters until the weather is somewhat settled, and there is no danger of chilling 

 the young brood. Otherwise spring dwindling will be very apt to be the result, and this is one 

 of the serious dangers to be apprehended and guarded against. 



Bees are frequently wintered upon their summer stands, but in a cold climate they require 

 some protection during severe winters. A simple shed for bees makes a good stand for both 

 summer and winter, and is not expensive. It should be made with a waterproof roof, tight 

 on the closed sides, facing the South or East, which should be open in summer, but have 

 shutters placed in front in winter to keep out the snow. In order to have bees winter well, 

 certain conditions are essential, which may be comprised with having the bees healthy, with 

 plenty of young bees reared in the fall, a good supply of good honey, - at least thirty pounds 

 in the fall for an average-sized colony in a place accessible to them, a warm hive which 

 will retain heat but pass off all excess of moisture and admit of ventilation, and the exclusion 

 of snow and rain. The principal thing in summer is to avoid extreme heat, and in winter 

 extreme cold, wet, and snow. By providing a good shed or bee-house, these may be avoided. 

 Bees that are strong and healthy and have a good supply of honey, will endure considerable 

 cold without freezing. 



Introducing a New Queen. It sometime happens that from the loss of the queen 

 or mother bee, or other reasons, it is desirable to supply a swarm with a new queen. Various 

 methods are resorted to for doing this, and even with the utmost care, a valuable queen will 

 sometimes be lost. A method that will usually be attended with success is to let the new 

 queen go on a comb of honey; then place a round wire-cloth thimble or cage about an inch 

 and a half in diameter over her: press the thimble into the comb firmly; from the under side 

 of the comb cut a hole through to the cage, leaving the cuttings in the opening thus made, and 

 press the comb down around the entrance of the hole, so as to cause the bees considerable 

 labor before reaching the queen. By this means the bees will generally glady welcome her. 

 It is best never to liberate a queen, but to leave her so that the bees will have to do it them 

 selves after a few hours. A queen should never be released from a cage of any kind while 

 the bees evince any undue anxiety to cover the surface of the cage, or while they seem excited 

 or nervous. The German method of introducing a queen is to remove the hive four or five 

 feet to the front and facing the old stand, putting an empty duplicate hive in its place; then 

 shake the bees off the combs on the ground between the two hives, and replace the frames as 

 quickly as possible in the hives on the old stand ; daub the queen with honey and drop her 

 between the combs. Some place her at the entrance of the hive and let her go in with 

 the other bees ; others sprinkle the mass of bees on the ground quite freely with sweetened 

 water, then place the queen daubed with honey among them and let all go in together. The 

 objection to this method is the time consumed, and the risk attending it. If the colony has 

 been queenless a long time, or there are no young bees of the proper age for nursing the 

 young larvae, a frame of hatching bees should be put in with the queen, as field bees are 

 quite averse to working as nurses during the honey-getting season. 



Stimulative Feeding. Bees are very active in time of brood rearing while there is 

 a supply of sweets from without. Where no artificial means are used, the bees delay active 

 brood rearing until the flowers come. And since it takes nearly a month from the egg until 

 the young bees are ready for work, the apiarist will be troubled with weak and dying colonies 

 in June, with no force at the best to take advantage of the earliest honey harvest, unless he 

 understands how to strengthen his colonies. He can easily do it by judicious feeding. For 

 this purpose a small feeder holding about one pound of food so made as not to permit any 

 escape of heat from the hive, should be placed on the top and filled with thin syrup. This 

 syrup can be made of two parts of granulated sugar, and one part of water, heated and 



