OR, MANUAL OF THE APIARY. 457 



be fed liquid honey, though this has been done with success, 

 but either the Good or Viallon, or some otner solid candy, 

 should be placed on the frames just above the cluster. Or we 

 may run the candy into a frame and hang- it in the hive. (See 

 Candy, page 318.) 



SECURE LATE BREEDING. 



Keep the bees breeding till the first of September. Except 

 in years of excessive drouth, this will occur without extra care. 

 Failure may result from the presence of worthless queens. 

 Any queens which seem not to be prolific should be superseded 

 whenever the fact becomes evident. / regard this as most 

 important. Few know how much is lost by tolerating feeble, 

 impotent queens in the apiary, whose ability can only keep 

 the colonies alive. Never keep such queens about. Here, 

 then, is another reason for always keeping extra queens on 

 hand. Even with excellent queens, a failure in the honey- 

 yield may occasionally cause breeding to cease. In such 

 cases, we have only to feed as directed under the head of Feed- 

 ing. It is not true that very large colonies will winter better 

 than smaller ones. Yet it is important that the bees be nor- 

 mal in age and condition. 



TO SECURE AND MAINTAIN THE PROPER TEMPERATURE. 



We ought also to provide against extremes of temperature. 

 It is desirable to keep the temperature about the hive between 

 38 and 50 degrees F., through the entire winter, from Novem- 

 ber to April. If no cellar or house is at hand, this may be 

 partially accomplished as follows : Some pleasant, dry day in 

 late October or early November, raise the stand and place 

 straw beneath ; then surround the hive with a box a foot out- 

 side the hive, with movable top, and open on the east ; or else 

 have a long wooden tube, opposite the entrance, to permit 

 flight ; this tube should be six or eight inches square to permit 

 easy examination in winter. The same end may be gained by 

 driving stakes and putting boards around. Then we crowd 

 between the box and the hive either cut straw, chaff or shav- 

 ings. After placing a good thickness of cut straw above the 

 hive, lay on the cover of the box, or cover with boards. This 



