54 MONTANA EXPERIMENT STATION 



after about the tenth to the fifteenth of August there is no chance 

 of securing surplus honey. If the top stories be left on the bees 

 may store in them, but this is very detrimental as then the honey 

 is scattered and not compactly stored as it should be in the brood 

 chamber. So that after the last extraction, about the tenth of 

 August, the combs should be returned only for a day or two until 

 the bees have cleaned them up, when the stories should be removed 

 and packed away for the winter. In the case of supers the same 

 rule applies. In fact, there is. no use in putting on empty supers 

 after the last of July, except perhaps in an unusually good year. 



The bees will then continue to work for about two months, 

 gathering enough in that time to keep the queen laying and so keep 

 up the strength of the colony and leave them strong enough for 

 the winter. Most colonies unless exceptionally weak will storo 

 enough honey for their winter supply. If there are any weak colonies 

 when finally examined before winter, they should at this time be 

 strengthened up with brood from the exceptionally strong colonies 

 or else united- with other weak colonies. In this climate where the 

 winters are long and severe it is particularly desirable that weak 

 colonies be doubled up since if left separate they are almost sure 

 to perish before spring. The two or three colonies to be united, if 

 near each other, should be brought gradually side by side moving 

 them a little each day. All but one should be made queenless, 

 selecting to be preserved the best queen, or, if there is no difference, 

 retaining the one in the largest of the colonies to be united. Then 

 after these preliminaries, when the colonies have had time to real- 

 ize their queenless condition, which will perhaps be a day or so, 

 just at dusk the combs of bees may be set over into the hive selected 

 to hold the new colony. Before doing this the queen with a few 

 bees should be confined in a wire-cloth cage, commonly used for 

 introducing queens and described in detail in the section on queen 

 rearing. After the bees are all in together it is well to smoke them 



-uglily. Some beekeeers practice sprinkling a little sugar 

 syrup over the bees, just enough to feed them well, but not enough 



lib them seriously. It is often well to feed them a little, and 

 ir. all cases it should be seen that enough honey is in the colony 

 to keep them" through the winter. 



There are various forms of feeders mainly of two types, one 

 the bees, come directly in contact with the vessel of syrup 



