358 Beekeeping 



Years ago it was asserted 1 that the presence of pollen in the 

 hive where the bees could eat it is responsible for dysentery, 

 but later work and the experience of beekeepers do not warr 

 rant this conclusion. A suggestion made by Holterman is 

 worthy of consideration in this connection. He advocates 

 giving each colony ten pounds of sugar in the form of syrup 

 late in the fall to be sure they have enough food. This 

 serves another purpose, perhaps not fully appreciated. The 

 syrup will be stored next to the cluster, the bees will then 

 use it first and, since it contains no gums, the accumulation 

 of feces cannot occur until the syrup is exhausted. 



Spring dwindling. 



If the colony goes into winter quarters with few young 

 bees or if by excessive activity during the winter because 

 of poor care they age rapidly, the adult bees are often unable 

 to do the work required of them when brood-rearing begins. 

 Then they may die more rapidly than they are replaced by 

 the emerging bees. To this condition the- name spring 

 dwindling is applied. Obviously the proper course is to 

 prevent the condition. The prolonging of brood-rearing in 

 the fall and especially the giving of proper care in winter, in- 

 cluding good food and protection from cold, will prevent this 

 condition. If it should occur, it may be reduced somewhat 

 by abundant protection from cold and wind in the spring. 



A final word of qualification should be inserted here at 

 the close of the discussion of the care of bees in winter. 

 An effort has been made to give the best advice possible in 

 the light of our present limited knowledge of this subject. 

 As the investigations proceed, some of the statements here 

 made may need qualification, and indeed with the facts at 

 hand some of them could be limited more than they now are. 



1 Heddon, Jas., 1885. Success in bee culture. Dowagiac, Mich. 



