THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER, 



147 



amount of stores, and whether they 

 have got healthy queens, for upon the 

 queen depends the future of the col- 

 ony. If the queen is a weak one it 

 should he united with some other, for 

 the secret of successful beedveepingis 

 keeping all colonies in a strong con- 

 dition. 



No one can make a success of bee- 

 keeping by keeping a large number 

 of hives with a few bees iu each. 

 Give me the same number of bees in 

 just enough hives so that each hive 

 will be full. More honey can be 

 stored with a certain number of bees 

 in a few hives than with the same 

 number in many hives. 



If a large colony has forty-five 

 pounds of stores it will be plenty to 

 carry them through the winter and 

 early spring, and you may rest as- 

 assured they will not starve. 



About November first those bee- 

 keepers who winter their bees in a 

 cellar should carry in their hives. 

 The room should be cool and especially 

 dry, as dampness will produce mould, 

 and this causes death to the bees 

 sooner or later. As even a tempera- 

 ture as possible should always be kept 

 in a room where the bees are, aud 

 they should be in a room partitioned 

 from the main cellar, away from the 

 light. No unnecessary noise should 

 be made at any time, nor the bees dis- 

 turbed, as it tends to irritate the bees 

 and is very injurious to them. 



Troy, Vt. 



Uniting Weak Colonies — Pre- 

 paring for Winter, Etc. 



BY M. II. I)E WITT. 



It is during this month that bees 

 should be fully prepared for winter. 

 In the first place, if you still have 

 weak colonies, I would advise you to 

 feed them up, and if there are not 

 enough bees to cover at least five 



Langsiroth frames all over, I would 

 advise you to unite them at once. 

 Unite them as follows : Unite two 

 or three into one. The best time for 

 uniting is in the evening just before 

 dark. Take an empty hive and place 

 it where you wish the new colony to 

 remain. Then bring the two colonies 

 you wish to unite near this hive First 

 catch both queens and cage them ; 

 then take out a frame of bees from 

 one hive and place it in the empty 

 one ; then take one out of the other 

 hive, putting them into the new hive 

 alternately. Now, when you have the 

 hive filled with frames, shake the re- 

 maining bees down in front and let 

 them run in. Now select the best 

 queen of the two and intioduce her 

 by the usual method. If you have 

 no use for the other one destroy her, 

 or if she is a good one you might sell 

 her to some one near by. If bees are 

 united in this way they seldom fight, 

 and it is not a difficult job. A cool 

 evening is preferable, because the 

 bees cannot fly so readily. Iu case 

 they did, many would go back to their 

 old location and get lost. If all your 

 stands have plenty of bees, and twenty 

 pounds of honey or sugar syrup and a 

 good queen, you are ready to pack 

 them up for winter. If you winter 

 your bees in chaff hives or special re- 

 positories you need do nothing more 

 with them during this month, but if 

 you have single-walled hives they 

 should be prepared as follows : Fir.-t 

 lay three or four sticks crosswise on 

 the frames, and on these spread a 

 piece of old carpet or duck. Some- 

 thing porous must be used so as to 

 allow the moisture to pass through. 

 Now take the cip off the h ve and 

 pack it full of fine hay or lawn grass, 



