WINTEEINQ, BEKS, 351 



a storm of this kind, a little attention will probably 

 be remunerated. Also, when the weather is moder- 

 ately warm, and not sufficiently so to be safe, they 

 should be kept in, whether snow is on the ground or 

 otherwise. 



For this purpose, a wide board should be set up be- 

 fore the hive to protect it froin the sun, at least above 

 the entrance in the side. But if it grows sufficiently 

 warm so tbat bees leave the hive when so shaded, it 

 is a fair test by which to tell when it will do to let 

 them have a good chance to sally out freely, except in 

 cases of a new snow, when it is aflvisable to confine 

 them to the hive. The hive might be let down on the 

 floor-board, and the wire-cloth cover the passage in 

 the side, and made da,rk for the present ; raising the 

 hive at night again, as before. I have known hundreds 

 of stocks wintered successfully without any such care ^ 

 being taken, and the bees allowed to come out when- 

 ever they chose to do so. Their subsequent health 

 and prosperity proving that it is not altogether ruin- 

 ous. It has been recommended to enclose the whole 

 Hive by a large box set over it, alad made perfectly 

 dark, with means for ventilation, &c. (A snow-bank 

 would answer equally well, if nOt better.) For large 

 families it would do well enough, as would also other 

 methods. But I would much rather take the chances 

 of letting them all stand in the sun, and issue as they 

 please, than to have the warmth of the sun entirely 

 excluded from the moderate-sized families. I nevei 

 knew a whole stock lost by this cause alone.* Yet, ] 



* Vide other causes of loss, a few pages back. 



