CHAPTER XVII 



SAFE WINTERING 



With each' recurring spring a large percentage of 

 colonies fail to respond to the roll-call, and their 

 disappointed owners cast vainly round for some 

 explanation of what is to them an unintelligible 

 mystery. The bees were all right in the autumn, 

 strong, full colonies, and now they are dead. 

 The same old thing* repeats itself year after year, 

 and will continue to repeat itself until bee-keepers 

 more thoroughly understand what is required in 

 order that their bees may winter safely. 



Stocks ought to, and will winter safely, and I 

 will guarantee that ninety-five per cent might be 

 brought through. Personally I only admit of pos- 

 sible loss in one direction, and this is owing to the 

 bees becoming queenless during the winter. There 

 is no remedy for this. Queens, like everything 

 else, die at times from natural causes, and if 

 this occurs in winter the stock becomes a total 

 loss. 



All these lost colonies, however, of which I 

 speak are starved to death in nineteen cases out 

 of twenty. This may seem an astounding fact, 



