So THE BEEKEEPERS DIRECTORY. 



BemoTing the packing in spring. 

 I never have made it a practice to remove the packing from 

 the liives until it is time to put the sections on. In fact, special 

 pains are taken in the spring to protect the brood- chamber from 

 cold and to retain all the heat as much as possible. The warm- 

 er the brood-nest is kept (that is of course to the natural de- 

 gree) the more rapidly brood-rearing will go on. 



Contracting the entrance as a means to retain heat. 

 Every apiary should be provided with the entrance blocks 

 which Mr. Langstroth has the credit of inventing. These blocks 

 give perfect and easy control of the entrance at any tiriie of the 

 year. In order to promote brood-rearing the entrance should be 

 contracted to about half an inch on cool days and nights. I 

 know of no way that it can be so quickly, and easily done as with 

 the entrance blocks. When the weather is warm, the entrance 

 can be enlarged by mer,ely changing the position of one of the 

 blocks. Unless the colony is a very large one an opening 2J 

 inches in width is plenty large. I rather like the idea of making 

 the entrance so small that the bees crowd a little during the bus- 

 iest part of the day. There is no serious disadvantage when they 

 do so if the weather is cool, and no honey is being gathered. 

 The bees seem to enjoy it, and I am inclined to think they feel 

 encouraged while jostling against each other in passing out of 

 and into the hive. It really seems more like business. Too large 

 an entrance is a disadvantage to any colony. During hot weather 

 I give an entrance the whole width of the brood-chamber. 



Shading the hires in winter- 

 When the bees have been confined in the hives several weeks 

 they are easily induced to take a flight, and if the warm rays of 

 the sun strike the front of the hives during the middle of the 

 day, many bees will venture out, and before they can return will 

 become chilled, arjd drop to the ground or on the snow. 



To shade the hives and prevent the loss of bees, lean a wide 

 board against the front of each one in such a way that the light 

 will be excluded from the entrance. 



Cleansing flight in winter. 

 It is generally supposed that bees wintering on the summer- 



