ADVANCED BEE CULTURE. 197 



.Biwe @t tSees iim 



F THEY were properly prepared for winter the preceding 

 autumn, given plenty of good stores, properly protected out of 

 doors, or placed in a cellar or otherrepository having the proper 

 temperature, and precautions taken against depredation by 

 mice, bees require almost no care in winter. 



No bee-keeper worthy the name will allow his bees to go into 

 winter quarters short of stores. They ought, at least, to have enough 

 to last them until the first warm days of spring, when they may be 

 handled upon their summer stands, and fed if necessary. 



However, if by any hook or crook, bees kave gone into winter 

 quarters short of stores, and there are fears that some of them 

 may be starving, it is better that they be examined and fed if needed, 

 even though the task may be unpleasant. There need be no hesi- 

 tancy in thus disturbing the bees for fear that it may do them some 

 injury, for, as a rule, it will not. 



Probably the best method of feeding a colony of bees in winter, 

 is to give them a frame of honey. If no honey is available, and some 

 of the colonies viust be fed, the best substitute is candy made from 

 granulated sugar. Put in suf&cient water to dissolve the sugar, then 

 boil the syrup until it will harden in cooling. To learn when to re- 

 move the candy from the stove, take out a spoonful every few minutes, 

 and allow it to cool. As soon as it begins to show signs of hardening, 

 draw the vessel containing it to the back of the stove, where the heat 

 is less. Watch it carefully and try it frequently. As soon as it is 

 sufficiently hard, remove it from the stove, and pour it into shallow 

 dishes to cool. Be careful not to get it too hard. If it is hard enough 

 to retain its form when placed over a colony of bees, that is sufficient. 

 A thin cake of such candy laid directly upon the frames over a colony 

 of bees, and then the whole top of the hive covered with a piece of 

 enameled cloth, and two or three thicknesses of old carpet over that, 

 will enable the bees to "hold the fort" as long as the candy lasts. If, 

 for any reason, it is impossible, or undesirable, to place the candy in 



