SELECTING COLONIES FOR WINTEU. 269 



source of honey is Clover or Basswood, it will fail, parti- 

 ally at least, before the end of warm weather. Some poor 

 or medium stocks will continue to rear brood too exten- 

 sively for their means, and exhaust their winter stores in 

 consequence ; such will need a supply of honey. 



But where great quantities of Buckwheat are sown, 

 cool weather follows almost immediately after the yield, 

 and stops the breeding. Consequently, in such localities, 

 a scarcity of bees is more common than a lack of honey. 

 If there are bees enough at the 1st of September, there 

 wiU usually be plenty of honey. There are exceptional 

 cases in all localities. 



It is common to have stocks with stores amply sufficient 

 to carry a good family through the winter, and too few 

 bees to last till January, or even to defend themselves 

 from robbers, hence bees are more frequently to be sup- 

 plied, thau honey. 



POOR STOCKS MAT BE 'aNITBD. 



It is usual to have a few hives with too little honey, as 

 well as too few bees. It is very plain, that if the bees of 

 one or more of this class were united successfully with 

 some of the former, we should have a respectable family. 

 I have thus united stocks that proved first rate. 



WHEN IT IS NOT BEST. 



"Whenever we make additions in this manner, it would 

 be well first to ascertain the cause of a scarcity of bees ; 

 if it is over-swarming, barren or drone queen, or loss of 

 queen, it is well enough ; but if it is from disease, r^ect 

 them, unless the bees are to be transferred the next spring, 

 and even' then, if so many cells are occupied with dead 

 brood, that the bees cannot be successfully wintered. The 

 greatest difficulty in uniting two or more families in this 

 mauner, arises from their belonging in the same apiary, 



