WINTER 61 



commences when stores begin to come in, but 

 I am sure this is not entirely so, for in the first 

 days of the new year, however mild it may be, 

 there is nothing from which honey could be 

 procured. The very first thing to start the bees 

 into activity are the snowdrops, and unless these 

 are grown in large quantities even they are not 

 much use to them. When the crocuses commence, 

 if the weather is fine, there is a little more to be 

 found. A fine February day sees the insects 

 crowding to the flaunting yellow blossoms. 



But there is not the least doubt that early 

 breeding results from large stores. The larger 

 the stores in the hive after the turn of the days, 

 the more likely is breeding to commence immedi- 

 ately. I have known two colonies side by side, 

 one! of which went into winter quarters seven 

 pounds lighter than the other, differ enormously 

 in their spring growth. While the one with ample 

 stores gathered over thirty pounds of honey from 

 the fruit trees, the other one only managed to 

 get four. And yet the latter was headed by a 

 queen in her second year, which is her very prime, 

 while the other was a year older. 



