28o BEE MANIPULATION. [Ch. v. 



for breeding. If this be not looked after and rectified 

 the colony will starve off; or possibly on some mild day 

 in winter — even before all is exhausted — they will decamp 

 as if for a swarm. 



The apiarian must therefore ascertain the state of 

 the stock hive at Michaelmas by means of a weighing 

 machine. The weight, exclusive of the hive, ought to 

 be from twenty to twenty-four pounds, and if not so, the 

 bees must be fed till that weight is reached. This is 

 done by the feeders above described (page 202), from 

 which they suck the syrup as if honey-gathering, and 

 then store it away, a quart in a day or so. The time of 

 doing this should not be deferred later, as it is important 

 that the food should be placed in the cells and sealed 

 up, and they cannot secrete the wax for this purpose with- 

 out a warm temperature ; if it remained unsealed it would 

 be liable to turn sour and cause disease. Again, at 

 mid-winter and in very cold weather, bees, though they 

 never become torpid like wasps, are in a state of dor- 

 mant inactivity from which it is better not to arouse 

 them. 



On the return of spring it will again be essential to 

 attend to feeding the bees, and this precaution must be 

 exercised till May, when they will be able to take care of 

 themselves. A little food in the spring, even when the 

 store is not all expended, is of value as stimulating the 

 queen to lay more abundantly, for bees are provident 

 and do not rear the young rapidly when supplies are 



