2-1:3 WINTEKIKG. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



WINTERING. 



How to winter bees successfully, has been to bee-keep- 

 ers tbeir most vexatious problem, and it maybe safely 

 asserted that failure in bee-keeping is chiefly attributable 

 to defective wintering. We cannot expect profitable re- 

 turns during the summer unless we commence the season 

 with thrifty colonies, and to insure this condition, they 

 must be properly wintered. While there is yet much to 

 be done before we have a perfect method of wintering, I 

 hope that a varied and extensive experience may enable 

 me to assist somewhat in reaching this end. 



PKEPAEING BEES FOK WINTER. 



The properly fitting of the colonies for winter, shonld be 

 borne in mind during the entire working season. In esti- 

 mating the quantity of honey required for wintei'ing, it 

 must be remembered, that a swarm should be confined to 

 a limited number of combs. Many colonies are lost 

 through lack of attention to this point. A marked ad- 

 vantage is found here in the use of the closed-end stand- 

 ing-frame ; this, of itself, regulates the size of the 

 brood-nest, which varies in proportion to the number of 

 frames used. 



The necessary supply of honey should be contained in 

 five, or, at most, six combs of the Quinby size. Five 

 combs, averaging five pounds each, or six, with four 

 pounds each, will generally prove sufficient. For winter- 

 ing out-of-doors, an excess of five pounds should be al- 

 lowed, and as much less will answer for hives wintered 

 under cover. The outside combs will naturally contain 

 more than those at the center, leaving the latter with 



