424 INSECTS AFFECTING VEGETATION 



The hives may be piled one on top of the other, the lower tier 

 raised a little from the floor. The entrances should not be contracted 

 unless the colony is comparatively weak. It is usually not consid- 

 ered good policy to close the entrances with wire cloth, as the dead 

 bees which accumulate more or less on the bottom board may cut 

 off ventilation, and the entrance should be free so that these may be 

 cleaned out. 



The time of removing bees from the cellar is less easily deter- 

 mined than that of putting them in. The colonies may be removed 

 early and wrapped in black tar paper or left until the weather is 

 settled. If the weather is very warm and the bees become fretful, 

 the cellar must either be cooled or the bees removed. Some bee keep- 

 ers prefer to remove bees at night, so that they can recover from the 

 excitement and fly from the hive normally in the morning. One of 

 the chief difficulties is to prevent the bees from getting into the 

 wrong hives after their first flights. They often "drift" badly with 

 the wind, and sometimes an outside row will become abnormally 

 strong, leaving other colonies weak. (Farmers' Bui. 397, U. S. 

 D. A.) 



