AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



407 



Manager of the Michigan Experiment 

 Apiary. Any colonies that are lacl<ing 

 in stores must of course be fed until they 

 are brought up to the regulation weight. 



FEEDING THE BEES FOR WINTER. 



The feeding ought to be done as early 

 as possible, that there may be time for 

 the bees to ripen and seal the honey. If 

 any of the colonies are somewhat defi- 

 cient in numbers, and there is time 

 enough, it may be well to feed slowly, 

 as this will stimulate brood-rearing. 



There is no better food for wintering 

 bees than pure cane-sugar. Granulated 

 is probably the cheapest, as it is the 

 driest. It is also almost certain to be 

 pure. A certain number of pounds of 

 water may be brought to a boil, then 

 twice the number of pounds of sugar 

 gradually stirred in, and the syrup again 

 brought to a boil, when it will be ready 

 to use as soon as cool enough. If there 

 is any trouble from the granulation of 

 the syrup in the feeders, or there is fear 

 that it may crystalize in the combs, a 

 little (say l/T)) of honey maybe added. 



Of course some sort of feeder is 

 needed, but it matters little what it is so 

 long as it allows the bees to reach the 

 food, and excludes outside bees. A tin 

 p^n set in the upper story, and a cloth 

 laid in the pan to keep the bees from 

 drowning as they sip the feed, will an- 

 swer every purpose. 



UNITING THE WEAK COLONIES. 



It often happens that some of the 

 colonies are too weak in numbers, and 

 the proper remedy is to unite two or 

 more colonies in one hive. The only 

 difficulty in uniting is that the bees 

 sometimes quarrel. If one of the colo- 

 nies is queenless, there is less likelihood 

 of quarreling. The proper way is to 

 keep the best queens, killing the others 

 . a day or two before tiie uniting is done. 

 Unite the bees upon the stand of the 

 colony having the queen, as queenless 

 bees will more readily give up their loca- 

 tion and take up with a new one where 

 they can find a queen. If the hives 

 have loose bottom-boards, there is no 

 better way of uniting than to simply set 

 one hive on top of the other, with the 

 bottom-board of the upper one removed. 

 In a few days the combs can be looked 

 over, and those containing the most 

 honey, or those having brood, can be set 

 into one hive, and the bees shaken from 

 the remaining combs. 



WINTERING BEES IN CELLARS. 



When the colonies are all sufficiently 

 strong and well supplied with winter 



stores, the next thing requiring atten- 

 tion is that of protection for winter. If 

 they are to be wintered in the cellar no 

 more attention is needed until it is time 

 to put them into the cellar, which should 

 be done after the season is so late that 

 the chances for the bees to fly again are 

 very slight, and the time when freezing 

 weather may be expected is near at 

 hand. The idea is to give them as late 

 a flight as possible, but not to let them 

 be caught out in the first snow-storm of 

 the winter. In this State (Michigan) 

 this time is usually in the last half of 

 November. 



Choose a time when the temperature 

 is falling, as the cluster will then be 

 contracting, and the bees will be less 

 likely to fly out when disturbed. If the 

 hives are raised two inches from the 

 bottom-board ai one end the bees, if any 

 are on the bottom-board, will crawl up 

 and join the cluster, and the admittance 

 of the cool air will cause the cluster to 

 retreat higher up among the combs; 

 thus the hive without the bottom-board 

 can be carried in with little danger of 

 bees giving trouble from flying out. The 

 hives should be stacked up in the cellar 

 with blocks between them, the space be- 

 low each hive allowing all dead bees 

 and refuse to drop down away from the 

 cluster, and affording abundant ventila- 

 tion. 



OUT-DOOR WINTER PROTECTION. 



If the bees are to be wintered in the 

 open air, the matter of protection can- 

 not be looked after too soon. Good, dry 

 sawdust or chaff makes good protection. 

 Ground cork is the best non-conductor 

 of heat, and remains perfectly dry, but 

 is too expensive and difficult to get for 

 general use. A much less quantity is 

 needed, however. Small quantities may 

 sometimes be secured of grocers that re- 

 tail California grapes. 



If the bees are packed late, after the 

 time for them to fly, the hives may be 

 gathered into long rows, stakes driven 

 down at the front and back, and boards 

 set up, the spaces between the hives and 

 between them and the boards being filled 

 with packing material. There should 

 also be packing over the hives, and a 

 roof over the whole to keep all dry. A 

 chute is needed in front to allow the 

 bees to fly if there comes a warm day in 

 winter, also in the spring. 



Many bee-keepers use a single box for 

 each hive. This makes less complica- 

 tion in getting the bees into long rows in 

 the fall, and then back to the proper 

 places in the spring, and, all things con- 

 sidered, is preferable. If packing ma- 



