WINTERING. 241 
CHAPTER XVII. 
WINTERING. 
How to winter bees successfully, has been to bee-keep- 
ers their most vexatious problem, and it may be 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. 
\ 
PREPARING BEES FOR WINTER. 
The properly fitting of the colonies for winter, should be 
borne in mind during the entire working season. In esti- 
mating the quantity of honey required for wintering, 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 
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