WINTBEING BEES. 297 



in one just large enough, to hold them. They should he 

 examined occasionally throughout the winter to see that 

 all is right, but disturbed as little as possible. Perhaps 

 when very cold, less air will be needed, than when moder- 

 ate. Towards spring, they are less quiet, and you should 

 take advantage of the first warm days after the middle 

 of March to get a part of them out, so that the remainder 

 will keep the temperature about the same as before. 



SETTING OUT. 



No matter if the snow is not all gone, if it has a crust 

 and the day is warm, a bee will rise from it, just as well 

 as from the bare earth. Eight or ten hives should be set 

 out at once ; after they have been out two or three hours, 

 set out as many more. When all are taken out at one 

 time, they are quite sure to mix, and unite with colonies 

 where they do not belong. They are more particularly 

 disposed to do so, when any stands have been changed 

 or set in a strange place. 



While the usual difficulty is to select a day sufficiently 

 warm, it is possible, as the season advances, for it to be 

 too warm. When the hive is first set out, the bees are in- 

 tent only on getting out to fly. Those that have been out, 

 are now on the lookout for plunder, and rush into the 

 hives recently set out, and carry off the honey, before 

 there is any guard established to defend it. When such 

 days occur, the bees should not be taken from the cellar. , 



Should some hives, after all precautions, get more 

 than their share of bees, while others are proportion- 

 ally deficient, the best way is to simply change the 

 hives, taking the strong one to the stand of the 

 weak one, and the reverse. Take care that too many 

 do not leave the strong hive and join the other, 

 as will occasionally happen, in which case it will 

 be necessary to return each to its own stand. Be- 

 13* 



