82 SOUTHERN BEE CULTURE 



essential to their progress ; and the entrance should be turned toward the 

 south, so they can crawl out on the alighting-boards and sun themselves, 

 which they seem to love so much to do. If there are any cracks or crevices 

 about the hives that will let the cold wind in on the clusters of bees they 

 should be stopped, and the bees molested no more than possible during 

 winter. 



During October is the best time to put bees up for winter, and to outline 

 the work. Look over the apiary and see where your surplus honey is, or 

 where feeding will have to be done, and mark the colonies thus ; then take an 

 empty hive body and bottom, also a box or bench to set the hives on while 

 you are preparing it for winter, manipulating and cleaning up the frames. 

 Remove a hive and set it on the box or bench, and put the extra bottom on 

 its stand and set the extra empty hive-body on it. Now remove the cover 

 and smoke the bees down and scrape the tops of the frames if there is any 

 comb or any wads of propolis on them ; then remove the division-board and 

 cut the burr comb off, if there is any, along the side of the frame, and pry 

 it loose with the hive tool (a plane-bit is a good tool for this purpose), and 

 clean the other side of the frame off ; then lift it out and set it in the empty 

 hive body, put it to one side, and take special notice of the honey there is 

 in it. Clean the next frame up in like manner, and set it in beside this frame, 

 and so on until all the frames have been cleaned up or scraped well, and set 

 them in the extra hive-body in the same position they were in the old hive, 

 so as not to upset them in household affairs. If all the frames have been 

 closely inspected as they were cleaned up, a vefy accurate estimate can be 

 maae on the bees and honey in the hive ; but weak colonies will consume 

 about as much honey during winter and spring as strong ones, so the bees 

 should rot be a matter of consideration unless they are very weak; but the 

 amount of stores is a matter of much importance ; and if the two outside 

 frames, or the two frames on either side of the brood-nest, are not from a 

 half to two-thirds full of honey one of them, at least, should be changed 

 for a full frame of honey from some colony which may have it to spare; then 

 if there is a good rim of honey around the brood in each frame the hive 

 may be marked "O. K. for winter," when the division-board has been cleaned 

 up and set in and wedged up behind the frames, and the cover cleaned up and 

 set on. If there is no surplus frames of honey in the apiary this amount 

 of stores can be fed them (see "Feeding Bees".). 



Now clean up the bottom and hive-ibody which you have removed the 

 bees from, and you will have extra ones for the next colony, which should 

 be treated in like manner, and so on until all the colonies in the apiary have 

 been put up for winter. Then you can rejoice over the fact during the 

 winter months that your bees will be in the best possible condition next 

 spring on your first inspection tour ; and the frames will be cleaned up and 

 in readiness for their manipulation during the coming season. 



There is another thing we must not overlook in preparing our bees for 

 winter, and that is to see that all hive entrances are contracted enough so 

 that they will not let mice into the hives, for they will eat up no small 



