son. As soon as warm days come, the queens will begin laying 

 in earnest. Within three days from the time the egg is laid the 

 larva is hatched and requires a very warm and even tempera- 

 ture. Baby bees are even more sensitive to unfavorable condi- 

 tions than baby chicks. It often happens that a few warm days 

 will result in the appearance of considerable quantities of brood 

 in the hive. A sudden drop in the temperature makes it dif- 

 ficult for the bees to keep the temperature sufficiently high, with 

 the result that part of the brood is likely to be chilled and, con- 

 sequently, lost. Every possible means should be used to save 

 the energy of the colony at this season. When brood rearing 

 commences, the bees require a good deal of water, and this 

 accounts for their frequenting the watering troughs so freely 

 in early spring. Water should be placed near at hand to save 

 long flights in search of it. A tub, trough or other receptacle 

 partly filled with shavings, chips or the like to enable the bees 

 to get the water without drowning, should be provided. 



Too much value can hardly be placed upon a good wind- 

 break. Evergreens which break the wind from the north and 

 west are very good. The writer's apiary is sheltered by a black- 

 berry thicket immediately back of the hives and back of this is 

 a grove of native trees. (Pig. 1.) The apiary was formerly 

 in the grove where the wind swept under the trees. The dif- 

 ference in the condition of the colonies in spring, since moving 

 to the new location, is surprising, indeed. 



Some bee keepers complain that after they bring their bees 

 safely through the winter in the cellar, they lose a large part of 

 them through the spring, the stock dwindling after being placed 

 on the summer stands. Others not only take pains to place the 

 bees in a carefully sheltered position after they are removed 

 from the cellar, but, in addition, provide some protection in the 

 way of packing. 



Over most of Iowa, the principal honey flow is from white 

 clover, which is of comparatively short duration. It is only the 

 colonies that are strong in bees at the beginning of the flow that 

 will return substantial profits to their owners. In localities 

 where the principal flow comes later in the season, not nearly 

 so much importance is placed on the early spring protection. 



METHODS OF WINTERING. 



It must be borne in mind that the winters are much more se- 

 vere in the northern part of the state. Some plans that are 

 suited to the conditions of the southern counties would not do in 

 the northern ones. The success or failure of outdoor wintering 

 will depend, to a considerable, extent, on the surrounding con- 

 ditions, such as windbreaks, as well as the actual protection of 



