204 A Modern Bee-Farm 
the whole Winter's supply may not only be stored, but 
most of it will be sealed up in little more than a week. 
From that time, without any further attention, breeding 
will steadily go on, until most of the uncapped stores. will 
be used up, and finally, sufficient empty cells will be found 
just where the bees decide to cluster, in the usual compact 
mass. 
Leave all the Combs 
for the bees to winter on, with a passage communicating 
over all frames, otherwise insufficient stores may be 
allowed, and the bees at once realizing the situation, will 
not expand the brood nest rapidly in Spring; or they may 
even die out before the owner has a chance to add more food. 
Unite Stocks of doubtful Strength. 
As mentioned elsewhere, all weak colonies must be 
united before feeding takes place; and not simply weak 
lots, but others about which there is the slightest doubt as 
to them coming through all right. The reader will ask: 
“How are those others constituted about which there can 
be any doubt, other than really weak stocks?” In the 
first place I should say those which have old, or otherwise 
unsatisfactory queens ; those which through any oversight 
may have been without a laying queen for a few weeks 
during the latter part of the summer; as well as those 
which may be short of stores. It will be found impossible 
to alternate the combs with ten or eleven-frame hives 
where they are populous, and in that case place the whole 
hive upon another near to it; or if a little too far apart, 
bring each hive half-way ; and in all cases of uniting, place 
a wide board from the ground to the flight board, not only 
to attract the flying bees, but also that both lots may be 
aware of a strange location, and so have no inclination to 
fight. (Refer to Uniting.) 
