456 THE beb-kbepbr's guide ; 



THB REQUISITE TO SAFE WINTERING— GOOD FOOD. 



To winter safely, then, demands that the bees have thirty 

 pounds by weight, not guess — I have known many cases where 

 guessing- taea.nt starvation— of good, capped honey (granulated 

 sugar is just as good). "With the extractor the temptation is 

 ever with us, to take too much honey from the hive. It is 

 always safest to leave enough, thirty to sixty pounds of the 

 best honey — the best is none too good — for a year's, or in 

 California for two years', stores. It is now proved that it is 

 even safer to feed a syrup made of granulated sugar. We 

 thus are sure that the stores are good and suitable. Often it 

 pays to do this, as we get enough for the extracted honey to 

 pay well for the sugar and our time and trouble. If desired, 

 this may be fed as previously explained, which should be done 

 so early that all will be capped during the warm days of 

 October. 



The bees should be able to pass over or through the combs. 

 Hill's device — bent pieces placed above the frames so as to 

 raise the cloth cover — will permit the first, while small holes 

 cut through the combs will enable the bees to pass from one 

 comb to another without having to pass around. In a good 

 cellar it is not necessary to do more at most than so to arrange 

 that the bees can pass over the frames. I used to cut holes, 

 but do so no more. This preparatory work I always do early 

 in October, when I extract all uncapped honey, take out all 

 frames after I have given each colony the thirty pounds, by 

 weight, of honey, confine the space with a division-board, 

 cover with the quilt and chaff, and then leave undisturbed till 

 the cold of November calls for further care. We must most 

 carefully exclude honey-dew from scale insects, and must see 

 that cider is not stored for winter food. I prefer that the 

 combs have no pollen in them, and that they be so full of 

 honey that six or eight will be enough. Pollen usually does 

 no harm, though sometimes it is injurious. If the bees can fly 

 often, or if kept in a uniform temperature at from 40 to 4S 

 degrees F., the pollen will do no harm. The combs may well 

 be one-half inch apart. If the bees have been neglected, and 

 mid-winter finds them destitute of stores, then they should not 



