§xx.] WINTER PRECAUTIONS. 285 



consumed the food to others that have honey within 

 reach. 



Ventilation is of great moment, but if the hive allows 

 of its being given at the top, the entrance may then be 

 narrowed so as only just to give free passage to the bees. 

 Holes the size of a pin's head will allow the moisture to 

 escape, and these must be reopened as fast as they are 

 propolised by the bees. The occurrence of a thaw is 

 the time when ventilation is needed in its highest degree. 

 Tt is a good plan to place a bell glass over the hole in 

 the crown-board of a wooden hive, with a zinc trough 

 round it to receive the condensed moisture. It is also 

 requisite to clean the floor-board, say in February ; but in 

 this and other operations the bees should not be dis- 

 turbed, for if they leave the hive when they are unable 

 to fly properly, as is the case in very cold weather, they 

 are likely to be lost. 



What further directions belong to this head will be 

 found in the next chapter under " Diseases " and 

 " Enemies.'' Mr. Langstroth has this comprehensive 

 sentence, the italics in which are his own. " If the 

 colonies are strong in numbers and stores, have upward 

 ventilation, easy communication from comb to comb, and 

 water when needed, and the hive entrances are sheltered 

 from piercing winds, they have all the conditions essential 

 to wintering successfully in the open air." 



