SPRING MANAGEMENT .—Chapter XIX. . 
be left on the hives till settled warm weather has arrived. There is more 
danger of removing it too early than too late, for in most paris of the 
country (excepting the far South) “cold spells” and chilly nights are 
experienced even after the season of fruit bloom, and this temporary cold, 
if the winter protection has been removed, may chill and kill some brood, 
thus weakening the colony. If there comes an unseasonably warm “spell” 
in the spring—really hot—the entrance of strong colonies may be opened 
to summer size. This should not be done, however, if the nights are cool 
enough to chill the brood. The winter protection and the contracted en- 
trances are not to be dispensed with until the time of settled warm weather. 
Many beekeepers make it a practice to leave the chaff tray on the double- 
walled hive all summer to protect the supers from undue heat or chill. 
If, perchance, the beginner has secured his first bees in single-walled 
hives and so has had to put them in some sort of winter cases, with a pack- 
ing of leaves or shavings or chaff about the hives inside these cases, he 
should not set the bees out of these winter cases till just before the honey 
flow or until it is necessary to give more room. If the colonies went into 
winter quarters strong and with plenty of good stores, he need not even 
examine them until he unpacks them. But if the colonies were of doubtful 
strength in the fall or had a doubtful amount or doubtful quality of food 
stores when going into winter quarters in the fall, the beginner will need 
to examine them during the first warm weather of the spring. In doing 
this, he should remove the packing only temporarily and replace it when 
he has given the bees what attention is needed—generally a feeding of sugar 
candy or sealed combs of honey.. 
If the bees be wintered in the cellar, the rule is to wait until the first 
natural pollen is abundant before setting them out from their winter quar- 
ters. If the bees become quite uneasy in the cellar it will be necessary to 
set them out early; but, as a general thing, there is more danger of setting 
them out too early than too late—both because of the cold and the lack of 
pollen and nectar supplies. Usually the best time for putting the bees out 
is the latter part of March or the first of April in the North where cellar 
wintering is practiced. But when a pollen supply seems assured and the sea- 
son of prolonged cool spells is past, wait for a warm, sunshiny day, and 
then, within this one day, remove all the bees from the cellar and place 
them on their permanent summer stands. When the bees are first re- 
moved there will be little or no brood in the hive and therefore the cold will 
do no injury to the colony; but, after they have been out long enough to 
have considerable brood, a cold spell may prove very serious and much of 
the brood be chilled. This trouble may be avoided by paper-packing the 
hive, as deseribed on page 105. This packing costs but little and can easily 
be adjusted in a few minutes. When one considers the saving in bees and 
brood, he will realize that he cannot afford to dispense with this protec- 
tion when setting his bees out of the cellar. 
Regulation of the Entrances. 
‘A first inspection of the colonies in the spring will serve to discover 
any colonies that may be dead and those that are weak. 
If any are found that are dead, at once close tight the entrances. 
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