178 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



December 



should be those filled with comb from 

 which you have now, or before, or 

 afterward emptied of honey, either by 

 feeding or extracting, and where our 

 part filled sections are thus used as 

 " baits " to entice the bees to an ear- 

 ly entering of the section, or surplus 

 apartment, they are of more value to 

 us than money in the bank, of a like 

 amount. Fill out the rest of the sur- 

 plus arrangement with empty sections, 

 each having a starter of thin founda- 

 tion in it, or the sections may be filled 

 with very thin foundation, as you 

 prefer. Supposing that you have 

 your surplus arrangements filled as 

 directed, you are to pack them snugly 

 away, where no mice or dust can get 

 to them, so that they will be ready 

 for use at a moment's notice next 

 June. Our next work is to get our 

 material for sections, hives, etc., by 

 purchase or otherwise, which we think 

 we shall need during 1895. To arrive 

 at the number of sections we wish, I 

 allow 125 one pound sections to each 

 old colony in the spring, and find the 

 estimation not far out of the way after 

 many years of experience. Having 

 the material on hand it is to be made 

 up and furnished with starters, com- 

 pleted and packed nicely away, as 

 was done with that which had been in 

 use the previous season. Don't let 

 any one fool you into putting this off 

 till the honey harvest arrives, on the 

 plea that fresh made foundation 

 should be used in the sections, for 

 years of experience has proven to me, 

 (and R. L. Taylor's experiments con- 

 ducted at the Michigan Experiment 

 Station proved the same thing) that 

 the comb foundation two or three 

 years old is as readily worked by the 

 bees as that fresh made. Next we 



make all needed hives, bottom boards, 

 covers, etc, which we expect to want 

 during the swarming season, so that 

 not a moments delay is caused on ac- 

 count of unmade material during the 

 busy season of storing of honey and 

 issuing of swarms. . If we have fur- 

 ther time the material for our shipp- 

 ing cases is made up and carefully 

 stored away, putting the same in a 

 darkened room, so that the light shall 

 not turn our nice white lumber to a 

 dingy yellow, thus injuring the sale 

 of our product. In procuring mater- 

 ial and making supplies for the apiary 

 it is always well to remember that if 

 you have a few too many there is no 

 harm done, save the little interest 

 there may be on the cash investment 

 of any surplus material ; but if we 

 lack during a large yield of honey, the 

 inconvenience is great, and often re- 

 sults in a serious loss. To sum up, in 

 short, the work from November to 

 May, I would say get everything 

 ready you wish to use during the busy 

 season, and have it snugly packed 

 away so that you can put your hand 

 on it at a moments notice. See the 

 bees often, and if they are in the cel- 

 lar, keep the temperature at from 40 

 to 45° if possible, and do not let the 

 dead bees accumulate on the floor to 

 get mashed and mouldy there. If the 

 mercury rises to 45 or 50° in the shade, 

 with little or no wind and the sun shin- 

 ing nicely, let your bees which are 

 out-doors have a flight, no matter if 

 the ground is covered with snow. 

 Bees can rise as safely off the snow 

 as from any other material providing 

 the temperature of the air is warm 

 enough, as above. Do not let any 

 colony starve or die from lack of at- 

 tention on your part, neither be so 



