no First Annual Report 



ALL SHOULD BE MADE TO ENTER. 



It is of the utmost importance that all should be made to enter the hive 

 at once. A cluster outside may contain the queen unconscious of a home, 

 and she might depart for the woods. Any small cluster around the hive 

 should be brushed toward the entrance until they are all in. As soon as 

 this is done it is highly important that they be set on the new stand for if the 

 bees have been long on the tree they often send out scouts, and if the bees 

 are left where they are hived often entice them to flee to the woods, other- 

 wise they return to the limb, and being unable to find them return to the 

 limb, and being unable to find them return to the parent stock with the few 

 scattering bees left after hiving. 



Shade is important, for if the bees do not like their home they will go 

 away, and the heat works much mischief in various ways. The shade should 

 not be too dense. 



LOSS OF QUEEN. 



Every bee-keeper should understand how to detect the loss of the 

 queen. The following morning after a loss of this kind has occurred, and 

 occasionally in the evening the bees may be seen running to and fro in wild 

 consternation. Toward the middle of the day the confusion will be less 

 marked, but the next morning will be again enacted and after the third or 

 fourth day cease entirely, and apparently they become reconciled to their 

 fate; they continue their labors although they do not manifest the energy or 

 ability seen in a prosperous colony Some authors say that they will not 

 gather pollen when queenless; but such indications are not always reliable. 

 It is highly necessary that the bee-keeper should glance at every swarm in 

 the morning for a few days after swarming, so that, if any such loss should 

 occur at this time it may be remedied at once by the introduction of a cell, 

 or a fertile queen. In early spring, every swarm should be examined for 

 her presence. In the box hive a little smoke may be blown in, and the bees 

 driven back; if any brood can be discovered, it is a sure indication that she 

 is there and fertile. In the movable comb hive, it is only necessary to raise 

 out one of the combs in the center of the cluster, and the condition will be 

 recognized at once. If a few imperfect bees are found on the bottom board 

 or in front of the entrance in early morning, it shows that the colony has a 

 fertile queen, and further examination is unnecessary. 



WINTERING BEES. 



More bees are lost by wintering than by all other troubles combined. 

 To winter them successfully each stock should contain a sufficient amount of 

 honey, bee- bread and bees. For out-door wintering each hive should con- 

 tain from thirty to thirty-five pounds of honey; indoor five to ten pounds 

 less. Each hive should have an upward ventilation — it is absolutely neces- 

 sary. 



