G I. K A X I X G S IX BEE C V I. T U R E 



September, 1919 



wintering qualities of honeys, some of them 

 having too large a per cent of resins and 

 gums to be a good winter food. As already 

 stated, if bees have frequent flights, such 

 food is safe; but during the dead of winter 

 it is apt to result disastrously, so that to 

 be on the safe side, we have for years given 

 each colony as much as ten pounds of sugar 

 syrup to store on top of their honey. The 

 colonies will probably not use more than ten 

 pounds during the most severe weather, and 

 so the syrup being fed last will be used 

 first, and the bees will not get down to the 

 undesirable honey until spring when they 



may be placed at the side of the hive, to be 

 removed later at the time of packing when 

 the brood will have hatched. 



Whenever there is a chance for a choice 

 in the matter, old dark combs should be left 

 at the center of the hive for the bees to 

 cluster on, since the cocoons in the cells 

 make such comb much warmer than new 

 light comb. Wherever the last brood hatch 

 there will be empty cells. As winter comes 

 on, more than half of the bees will crawl 

 into these empty cells using the cells for 

 overcoats, the other bees clustering in be- 

 tween the combs and these overcoated bees. 



The 5- or 10-pouiid frictiim-top pails with pierced lids make good feeders. 



water is aljout right. 



Two ijiirts of sugar to one of 



will be able to have frequent cleansing 

 flights, and thus avoid dysentery. 

 Examination of Colonies. 



While making the estimate on the requis- 

 ite amount of stores, there will probably be 

 no honey coming in, and therefore care 

 should be taken not to start robbing. If 

 any colonies are weak, their entrances 

 should be contracted, and if the hives are 

 open for any length of time it may be neces- 

 sary to use a robber tent, for it would cer- 

 tainly be very bad for the colonies to be- 

 come unduly stirred up at this time of the 

 year when they should be quiet. 



During the work, if weak or queenless 

 colonies are found, they should be united 

 with others; or the queenless one, if strong, 

 may be given a good queen by the cage 

 method. Crooked combs or those having 

 too large a per cent of drone comb or too 

 much beebread should be removed; or, if 

 there chance to be some brood in them, they 



Thus the bees during cold weather are in a 

 compact spherical mass. This part of the 

 combs which they occupy is called the 

 brood-nest. If possible, the brood-nest 

 should not be disturbed since this affords a 

 good clustering space for the bees. 



Method of Feeding. 



The friction-top pail offers a very easy 

 method of feeding. The lid is pierced full 

 of holes made with threepenny nails or in 

 some cases by machinery. These feeders are 

 filled with syrup made of two parts of sugar 

 to one of water, or even denser if late in the 

 season; for late in the fall the bees become 

 rather sluggish and if given syrup too thin 

 may not evaporate it sufficiently. In cold 

 weather the syrup should be thick and warm 

 when fed. 



When the syrup is ready to be fed, a 

 deep super should be placed over the brood- 

 chamber, the pail of warm syrup inverted 

 {Continued on page 617.) 



