21 



One beekeeper describes his method of packing, after taking out of the cellar, 

 somewhat as follows : He puts chaff or straw on the ground for the hives to rest 

 on to keep the bottom dry and warm, sawdust cushions on top, straw piled up 

 around the sides and backs, boards leaned against the straw to hold it in place, 

 and large telescoping covers placed over each hive. If any colony is weak and 

 does not cover the required number of combs when set out, he removes unoccupied 

 combs, crowding the bees to the side of the hive with a division board, putting 

 packing in behind the division board. The bees are left with this packing around 

 them until they are strong enough to need room and ventilation. 



A beekeeper writing from N't)rthern Ontario, has a collapsible winter case, 

 which he puts on each hive, packing with two or three inches of shavings on sides 

 and top, practically giving the colony as much protection as many beekeepers 

 give for outdoor wintering in Southern Ontario. The main point is to see that 

 the hives are warmly protected and sheltered from cold winds during the period 

 of spring building up. This seems like a little extra labor, but will be well repaid 

 in the additional amount of honey gathered during the honey season. 



SPEING FEEDING OF BEES. 



Success in beekeeping depends on having the hive boiling over with workers 

 just at the beginning of the main honey flow. This condition is obtaihed by con- 

 serving the strength, and thus prolonging the life of the workers which have wintered 

 over ; also, by making conditions as favorable as possible for rearing young workers. 

 We have seen how the rapid breeding of young depends on cluster temperatures. 

 There is another factor of equal importance which must now be considered; that 

 is, the productivity of the queen and the nutrition of the larvffi. 



Aside from cluster limitations, which depend on population and temperature, 

 the queen's laying is affected by her vigor and the way she is fed. Her vigor 

 depends on her original vitality and the amount of work she has done. Age and 

 breeding are important factors here, also wintering. A vigorous queen, after her 

 winter's rest, will lay eggs in the spring as fast as a tolony can care for them, 

 provided she is well fed. Her food is obtained froifl the younger workers of the 

 hive, and is a milk-like substance produced by glands, located in the head, which 

 pass -the food down into the mouth, where it is handed out to a hungry queen or 

 larva, as the case may be. The production of this food is quite involuntary, and 

 depends on the amount of honey and pollen consumed by the worker bees. As 

 the queen is producing eggs at the rate of hundreds daily, she requires frequent 

 nourishment, and must seek it from workers about her in the hive. To a great 

 extent her egg-laying will be in proportion to the ease or difficulty with which 

 she is able ^to obtain food in this way, and that will be in proportion to the number 

 of young bees in the hive and to the extent to which they are producing this food ; 

 and that, again, will depend on the supply of honey and pollen in the hive and 

 the extent to which it is available. Honey which is sealed in the combs will be 

 . used by workers in the preparation of this food ; hut unsealed honey, or that which 

 has just been brought in, is used more freely. It will be seen from this chain 

 of statements, that for rapid brood-rearing in spring, it is important not only 

 to have plenty of stores in the hive, but to have part of them not sealed and close 

 to the cluster, so they will be handled and consumed by the workers. The handling 

 of honey, either from the field or from feeding, must stimulate the production 



