220 A Modern Bee-Farm 
This calamity can be avoided by placing one or two 
34-inch strips of wood across the frames, under the quilt. 
Compact Winter Nest. 
It may be considered that during cold weather the combs 
are really unnecessary except as the store cupboards. 
Under normal conditions, during late autumn, at the 
central lower portion of the combs the cells are all empty, 
just as vacated by the later batches of brood. As the cold 
weather comes on the bees form upon that portion of the 
combs, the nearest possible approach to a_ perfectly 
unbroken cluster. Some of them occupy the empty cells 
and rest head to head on opposite sides of the centre 
wall of the combs, while others crowd between. 
Thus they make the best of the situation as they find it ; 
but careful experiments, conducted over a series of years, 
have always shown me that the bees prefer to cluster in 
Winter where there are no combs at all to intersect them, 
and in this situation have less difficulty in maintaining 
that animal heat so necessary for the preservation of life. 
~ We can therefore meet them half-way as it were, and 
while not removing the stores can alternate heavy combs 
with empty frames, thus bringing the cluster.into a more 
compact mass, and entirely avoiding the frequent destruc- 
tion of the unfortunate outer seam of bees. 
More Bees—Less Food. 
The more compact the cluster, the more warmth is 
maintained at less cost in consumption of stores. A 
strong colony will consume less food comparatively than 
a weak lot, which is compelled to use a larger quantity in 
maintaining the necessary warmth. 
Hence we see the want of economy in wintering weak 
stocks ; as also in dividing the cluster of strong colonies by 
such frames as are spaced only t#-inch from centre to 
