104 ONE YEAR AMONG THE BEES. 



that the hatching brood at this time will not keep up the force of bees. 

 This results from improper fall and winter management, of which I 

 will have something to say later on. Colonies of bees should be of 

 proper strength at all seasons of the year, and at no time are weak 

 colonies desirable. We may not have this entirely under our control 

 during the winter season, but largely so; for if we go into winter 

 quarters with weak stocks we will surely come out with them much 

 weaker in spring. 



If colonies are reasonably strong in early spring, and have good 

 fertile queens, with plenty of provisions in store, there is nothing to 

 fear with regard to their coming through in good condition and prov- 

 ing profitable the following honey season. In making an examination 

 of colonies at this time, ascertain, first, if the queen is present, and 

 if she is depositing eggs, and if brood-rearing is progressing to some 

 extent, and, also, as to amount of honey in the hive. If a colony 

 is found without a queen now, and no queen at hand to supply it, it 

 is absolutely useless to allow it to remain as a colony. The proper 

 thing to do is to unite it with some other colony that has a queen. 

 In such a case as this we can strengthen some weak colony that has a 

 queen, by uniting with it. The process of uniting would be simply 

 placing the queenless hive on top of the other hive, supposing of 

 course that we use the common frame hive, when the bees will almost 

 immediately go below to the queen. If any remain on the combs, 

 they may be brushed off with a stiff feather and the upper hive re- 

 moved. 



It is a common practice to contract the space in the hives, and 

 especially so in case of weak colonies, by division boards, which acr 

 company almost all frame hives. This economizes the natural 

 warmth of the bees, and enables them to rear more brood, and keeps 

 them in more comfortable quarters. In handling the frames of comb 

 at this season of the year we should be very particular when return- 

 ing them to the hive to put them back in the same place and position 

 they formerly occupied, so that the brood will be in a compact form 

 and not separated or changed ; for in case it should be thus separated 

 and the cluster of bees were not able to cover it thoroughly, it would 

 of course be lost. 



In early spring bees should be inspected and handled only on 

 warm days, when they are flying freely. In no case should hives be 

 opened up and the bees disturbed at any other time. In every case 

 after handling a colony the hive should be carefully and thoroughly 

 closed, and during this period of springtime the entrances to all hives 

 may be contracted to a small space with benefit to the bees. 



