WINTER PREPARATION 155 



Prelimixaky Preparation for Winter. 

 — After the close of the honey flow the bees 

 should be prepared for winter as early as pos- 

 sible, to avoid distui^bing the colony after the 

 normal activities of summer have ceased. Care 

 must be taken to insure plenty of honey to last 

 the bees through the long months when no 

 honey comes to the hive. In the Northern 

 States it is seldom safe to depend upon less than 

 thirty pounds, and the author prefers forty to 

 fifty pounds of sealed stores. This lar^e 

 amount will insure a sufficient supply for early 

 brood rearing and will carry the colony safely 

 through an unfavorable spring. The quahty 

 of the stores is important, especially in the 

 North, where long periods of time elapse when 

 the bees are unable to leave the hive to get a 

 cleansing flight. The bees relieve themselves of 

 the accumulated excrement only while on the 

 wing, under normal conditions. If the stores 

 be of poor qiiahty, such as honeydew or im- 



