Hints and Instructions to Beginners. 83 



Hints and Instructions to Beginners in Bee 

 Culture. 



1. To winter bees successfully, make sure in 

 September or October that stores are plentiful, that 

 the stock has a young queen, is sheltered from north 

 winds, and, above all, see that the hive is damp-proof. 



2. Twenty-five to thirty pounds are required to 

 safely carry a colony through the winter. 



3. Do not keep the bees confined to the hive on 

 sunny winter days, but when snow lies on the ground 

 it is safer to shade the entrance. 



4. Prepare your hives, when possible, long before 

 you expect to require them, and see that they have a 

 good-fitting movable ' dummy, ' and that all the hives 

 have frames of uniform size. 



5. Spring is the season when bees are most in 

 danger of starvation and dwindling. Watch your 

 colonies, and feed the destitute right on till the honey 

 crop opens. Lessen the room by means of the dummy, 

 and increase the space as it is required. 



6. Do not feed at the entrance or out of doors, as 

 it causes the bees to rob, but always on the top over 

 the brood nest. 



7. When you see many bees hunting around and 

 trying to get into other hives, be sure robbing is going 

 on somewhere, or that loose honey has been left within 

 their reach. Close up entrances of weak hives to just 



