WHITE HONEY THE BEST WINTER FEED 235 
of wintering as though proper protection from cold were all of 
the problem. In fact at least two other things are of more 
importance: first, of course, a supply of suitable food large 
enough to last until the flowers bloom again; next a vigorous 
young queen. After these, suitable protection should be con- 
sidered. 
When the bees are unable to fly for long periods of time, 
as in winter, proper food is of great importance. Normally the 
bee voids its excrement only while on the wing. The wastes 
that accumulate in its body during the long weeks of inactivity 
are a severe tax at best and with low-grade food stores, the 
quantity becomes so great as to swell the abdomen to the point 
of causing death. In mild winters when there is frequent oppor- 
tunity for cleansing flight, bees wintered out of doors will go 
through safely on almost any kind of stores if the quantity is 
sufficient. There will be, however, a much greater mortality 
among the bees on poor stores than on those of good quality. 
Bees wintered in cellars, or outside in severe winters, cannot be 
expected to come through in good condition on poor stores, even 
though they survive at all. 
White Honey the Best Winter Feed.—The whiter the honey, 
as a rule, the less waste it contains and there is no better winter 
feed than white clover honey. The color is not always a safe 
guide, however, for some aster honey is said to be light in color 
and aster honey seldom gives good results as a winter feed. 
The dark fall honey, especially when mixed with pollen, is 
much less desirable, and honey-dew is disastrous. It is a com- 
mon plan among practical apiarists to extract all late honey, 
which has not had time to be thoroughly ripened, from the combs 
at the close of the honey flow and to replace with sealed white 
clover honey, or to feed sugar syrup. The best grade of granu- 
lated sugar should always be used for this purpose as it makes 
a very good substitute for honey for wintering. Equal parts 
of sugar and water are frequently used, although best authorities 
recommend less water; three parts sugar to two parts water, or 
