250 WINTERING 
so little alteration that but a few minutes is necessary to make 
one over. As will be seen by Fig. 116, a six-inch strip is removed 
in front of the entrance and turned inside the box to prevent the 
packing from dropping down in front. On warm days the bees 
are free to fly. Dry leaves are used for packing and about four 
to six inches of space is filled all round the hives and usually 
Fie. 116.—Snug for the winter, 
from ten to twelve inches over the top, the more the better. As 
the hives are two stories high the bees have an abundance of room 
for spring brood rearing. 
As before stated there should be an abundance of honey. 
With a surplus available in the hive in spring and the hives 
protected from the cold winds by the packing, they need not be 
opened until the beginning of the honey flow. Colonies thus 
packed, and opened for the first time about the first of Mav, 
have been found to be full of brood and honey from fruit bloom. 
