THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



263 



3. I have had good success in 

 wintering small colonies, but very 

 poor success in wintering any that 

 had been manipulated late in the 

 season. October 1 is too late here. 



ANSWERS BY G. W. DEMAKEE. 



1. There is no danger of your 

 colonies being too large. Breeding 

 will cease in time for your bees to 

 store fall honey in the combs after 

 the 3'oung bees cut out — for winter 

 stores, otherwise 3'ou will have to 

 feed enough stores after the first 

 killing frost, to make up what is 

 lacking. 



2. Brooding will cease later on ; 

 and, as the young l)ees hatch, there 

 will be room for winter stores. 



3. It won't pay. You will be 

 surprised to see how the size of 

 your stong colonies will whittle 

 down when winter sets in. If you 

 will provide 3'our strong colonies 

 with plenty of stores for winter, 

 they will pay you best. 



ANSWERS BY J. E. POND. 



1. You need have no fear in re- 

 gard to the brood ; the lack of 

 hone}' can be easily supplied by 

 feeding. 



2. If you feed so that every 

 comb has its upper half filled with 

 stores, there will be an ample 

 quantity. Begin feeding at once, 

 and there will be no trouble. 



3. I have never 3'et seen a col- 

 ony too large for wintering ; you 

 will find on the approach of cold 

 weather that the clusters will call 

 the bees snugly together. Use eight 

 frames in a ten frame hive evenly 

 spaced, and give from one and a 

 half to two inches space over tops 

 of frames and you will find there 

 will be room and to spare, the first 

 cold night. 



contain twenty-five or more pounds 

 of honey or sugar stores. 



3. It would do very well if di- 

 vided by the 10th of September, 

 giving each colony then one-half 

 the brood, which ought to be not 

 less than three frames each ; not 

 three frames full of brood, but the 

 middle portion of each comb of six 

 frames should have more or less 

 capped brood in them, on Septem- 

 ber 10, and in my opinion they 

 would certainly winter well. It is 

 said that a large colony of bees 

 consume no more honey in winter 

 than a small one ; the difference 

 being in the ability of the large 

 colony to keep the temperature at 

 a comfortable point at a small 

 consumption of honey, while the 

 small colonj' must consume a large 

 amount of honey to maintain the 

 prc^per warmth to keep from freez- 

 ing;. 



ANSWERS BY HENRY ALLEY. 



1 & 2. I don't think the bees 

 would starve, provided the combs 



ANSWERS BY DR. TINKER. 



1. No, the combs will hold at least 

 thirty pounds of food, and not over 

 fifteen are equired to winter any 

 properly protected colony, leaving 

 fifteen pounds for brood-rearing in 

 early spring. 



2. As stated, the bees would starve, 

 but by the time the brood all hatches 

 there will be plenty of room for more 

 stores. 



3. Very strong colonies may be 

 divided and successfully wintered, 

 but I do not think it advisable to do 

 so. The reason that very strong 

 colonies do not winter as well, usually, 

 as average sized ones, is because of 

 insufficient ventilation. Very large 

 colonies of bees in winter are too 

 warm, do not cluster and are unable 

 to hibernate. They wear themselves 

 out in constant activity and by the 

 time spring comes are not so strong 

 as the colonies that were able to hi- 

 bernate. The proper solution of 

 this question was first made known 

 to the public in my article on win- 

 tering in the October number of the 



