September, 1920 



G I- K A X 1 X G S IN B E E C LM. T U R E 



WINTERING IN THE NORTH 



Packs in ^adruple Cases in Septem- 

 ber and Feeds Later. How a Year- 

 round Food-chamber is Provided 



By Morley Pettit 



THE term 

 "winter- 

 ing ' ' in a y 

 be taken to 

 mean the main- 

 taining of col- 

 ony s t r c n g t li 

 during tlic inac- 

 tive season. 

 Bnilding up t'ol- 

 itny strength for the harvest — "spring man- 

 agement "-^-is so closely associated with 

 wintering that at The Pettit Apiaries wo en- 

 deavor to combine them and make fall 

 preparations so thoro that no further atten- 

 tion is required until extra brooding sjiacc 

 is needed in spring. 



Successful wintering depends on just a 

 few all-important factors. These are the 

 bees, the stores, the hive, the immediate 

 surroundings, and the general surroundings 

 rather vaguely designated in beekeeping lit- 

 erature as "locality." The bees must be 

 vigorous and plentiful. That is, the colony 

 must be strong in vitality as well as in num- 

 bers. To gain this, much depends on the 

 queen. The stores must also be plentiful, 

 and, especially for our Canadian winter, 

 must be of the very best quality, preferal)ly 

 sugar syrup. The hive should be suited to 

 the size of the cluster and during early au- 

 tumn and late spring should have extra 



brooding space. 

 It re(juires plen- 

 ty of insulated 

 covering to keep 

 out frost. And 

 tlieie should also 

 be ample shelter 

 from winds. The 

 part played by 

 "locality" in 

 wintering is rather indefinite, except that 

 Avhere winters arc colder and longer, winter- 

 ing becomes a more exacting science. 



At Tlie Pettit Apiaries wintering begins 

 with attention to queen condition. I was 

 almost going to say that it ends there, but 

 there are some other important considera- 

 tions. All thru the active season our queens 

 are under observation, in the sense that af- 

 ter each colony has had careful attention, 

 any defalcation, such as failing to store 

 surplus, preparing to swarm, etc., is charged 

 to the head of the colony, and something 

 happens to her head — or thorax to be ex 

 act. Queen-rearing is started as- early as 

 the weather permits to provide for the re- 

 queening which goes on thus all the sea- 

 son. Toward the end the replacing of 

 queens of doubtful record is quite general. 

 Three Important Points. 

 In further reference to tlie "bees" factor 

 for winter, three imjiortant points are given 



A loriier of the S yard of The Pettit Apiiiries, showing portable -wind screen; also suiue of the teu-yeurold 

 quadruple cases which are still going strong. The two double rases have now gone to the discard. 



