SPRING MANAGEMENT. 
CHAPTER XIX. 
The beginner may wonder why the chapter on spring management is 
to be found at the end of this beginner’s book. Spring seems the natural 
time to begin things in general, including beekeeping. But if the begin- 
ner will recall our advice to him as to when to begin he will remember 
that this time was set at fruit-bloom time, if possible—“after the early 
spring managing problems are past,” and that we also advised him to 
buy full colonies with sufficient stores to last the bees until the main honey 
flow. So it was for a later time in the season that these beginner’s instruc- 
tions were begun, and there remains the important work of early spring 
management to complete the cycle of the year. 
It is to be constantly kept in mind that both winter and spring man- 
agement aim at the all-important object of having the colonies very strong 
in bees at the beginning of the honey flow—the secret of success in securing 
a honey crop. 
The spring management of bees is often more difficult than the win- 
tering of them. This is largely because of the sudden weather changes of 
the spring season. A sudden change from warm to cold, or, rather, a week 
of warm weather followed by severe cold, is very hard on both bees and 
brood, and not seldom, in the north temperate zone, the spring losses ex- 
ceed those of the winter, though such losses are usually the result of poor 
wintering. 
Before discussing the actual work of spring management, it is well to 
caution the beginner against needless “tinkering” with the bees, as more 
harm than good is often done by too much “attention” being paid them. 
They should receive necessary care—but no more, and some seasons they 
will need much more attention and manipulation in the springtime than 
in other seasons. 
Taking from the Bees Their Winter Protection. 
The manner in which the bees have been wintered and given protec- 
tion against the winter’s cold will determine one of the first spring problems 
of the beginner, namely, when is the safe time and what is the safe way 
to lay aside this protection? 
If the bees are in double-walled hives, as this book has advised for 
beginners, they are at all times out in the open on their permanent loca- 
tions, having only a mat, chaff-tray and deep telescoping cover above the 
brood-chamber to serve in addition to the double walls of the hive for 
winter protection. In case the brood-chamber was contracted the fall be- 
fore by removing several frames and this space filled with dry leaves or 
shavings, these should be removed as soon as the colony needs more stores 
or the queen needs more laying room. The special top protection should 
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