THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



11 



THE PROSPECTS FOR WINTER 



Are not overly assuring. As a con- 

 sequence of the dearth in the fall crop 

 of honey, brooding ceased unusually 

 early, and, in a great majority of 

 Canadian apiaries, stores were found 

 to be very short. \ great amount 

 of feeding for winter had, therefore, 

 to be resorted to. Now, feeding in 

 the fall for winter stores, to be suc- 

 cessful must be done right, and, un- 

 fortunately, only a comparatively few 

 beekeepers know how to do it just 

 right. 



In the first place the food itself 

 must be right, then it must be fed 

 right and at the right time. If these 

 three points are observed the artifi- 

 cial stores will carry them through 

 just as well as the natural. The fall, 

 however, has been exceedingly favor- 

 able for feeding, as the weather has 

 been exceptionally warm since the 

 honey flow ceased. This is Nov. i8, 

 and we have had but two frosty nights 

 with any considerable freezing yet. 

 Yesterday was a fine, warm day, and 

 the bees had a fine flight, probably 

 the last till next spring. 



WINTER QUARTERS. 



I propose to winter the whole of 

 my bees inside this season. Last 

 winter I had thirty colonies packed 

 in chaff and sawdust and in the Jones 

 double-walled hives outside, and they 

 came through about as well as those 

 in the bee cellar. But outside win- 

 tering involves considerable work 

 and watchfulness, and not a little 

 anxious sohcitude, especially when 

 the thermometer persists in getting 

 away down below zero and remaining 

 there a week or two at a time. Now 



is the time to get the bee cellars and 

 other repositories ready without fur- 

 ther delay. Renovate them, ventilate 

 them, make them warm ; make them 

 dry, if possible, and make them dark ; 

 and then if your bees are in good 

 order, with plenty of stores and you 

 put them in at the right time and fix 

 them right after they are in, they will 

 be pretty apt to show up well in the 

 spring. " But this is all much easier 

 said than done," you exclaim. Yes, 

 it is ; there is no royal road of idle- 

 ness leading to the goal of success 

 in beekeeping. On the other hand 

 "eternal vigilance" is the price of 

 success, and let no beekeeper forget it . 



But, Messrs. Editors, the length 

 of the manuscript before me and the 

 exigencies of your space admonish 

 me that I have now stayed long 

 enough for a first visit. I, therefore, 

 bow myself out with best wishes for 

 yourselves, your readers, and your 

 journal. 



Se/l>}', Lennox Co., Ontario, 



HINTS FOR BEGINNERS. 

 No. III. 



By J. E. Pond.Jk. 



The science (for science it most 

 certainly is) of apiculture would pos- 

 sess far more votaries were it not for 

 the mistaken idea that prevails among 

 the uninitiated, that bees will sting 

 (this is true) and that it is very diffi- 

 cult to control them. When, how- 

 ever, the assurance can be given that 

 bees may, to a certain extent, be 

 tamed, and that their weapon of of- 

 fence and defence is terrible only in 



