BEE-KEEPER'S CALENDAR. 367 



combs may afterwards be returned, if the bees have not a 

 sufficient supply without them. 



If no Fall supplies abound, and any stocks are too light 

 to winter with safety, then, in the Northern States, the 

 latter part of this month is the proper tune for feeding 

 them. I have already stated (p. 274), that it is impossible 

 to tell how much food a colony will require, to carry it 

 safely through the Winter ; it will be found, however, 

 very unsafe to trust to a bare supply, for even if there is 

 food enongh, it may not always be readily accessible to 

 the bees. Great caution will still be necessary to guard 

 against robbing; but if there are no feeble, queenless, or 

 impoverished stocks, the bees, unless tempted by improper 

 management, will seldom rob each other. 



OCTOBER. Forage is now almost entirely exhausted in 

 most localities, and colonies which are too light should 

 either be fed, or have surplus honey from other stocks 

 given to them, early this month. The exact condition of 

 every stock should now be known, at the latest, and, if 

 any are queenless, they should be broken up. Small 

 colonies ought to be united, and all the hives put into 

 proper condition for wintering. Some full honey-combs 

 should be put in the centre of the hive, and holes, for 

 easy intercommunication, made in the combs (p. 337) ; 

 and, if the hives have a winter-passage, bees should now 

 be accustomed to use it (p. 338). By the last of this 

 month, the glass hives should be packed between their 

 outer cases and the glass, with cotton waste, moss, or any 

 warm material. 



NOVEMBER. I take for granted that all necessary pre- 

 parations for Winter have, in our Northern States, been 

 completed by the last of the previous month. If, how- 

 ever, the bee-keeper has been prevented from examining 

 his stocks, he may, on warm days, in November, 



