Care of Bees in Winter 



If they were properly prepared for winter the preceding autumn, 

 given plenty of good stores, properly protected out of doors, or placed 

 in a cellar or other repository having the proper temperature, and 

 precautions taken against depredation by mice, bees require almost no 

 care in winter. 



No bee-keeper worthy the name will allow his bees to go into \\'inter 

 quarters short of stores. They ought to have at least enough to last 

 them until the first warm days of spring, when they may be handled 

 upon their summer stands, and fed if necessary, 



H(.)wever, if, by any hook or crook, bees have gone into winter 

 quarters short of stores, and there are fears that some of them ma}' be 

 starving, it is better that they be examined and fed if needed, even 

 though the task may be unpleasant. There need be no hesitancy in thus 

 di,=turbing the bees for fear that it may do them some injury, for, as a 

 rule, it will not. 



Probablv the best method of feeding a colony of bees in winter 

 is to give them a frame of Imney. If no honey is available, and some 

 of the colonies inusl be fed. the best substitute is candy made from 

 granulated sugar. Put in sufficient water to dissolve the sugar, then 

 boil the s)rup until it will harden in cooling. To learn when to remove 

 the candy from the stove, take out a spoonful c^'er\ few minutes, and 

 allow it to cool. As soon as it begins to show signs of hardening, draw 

 the vessel containing it to the back of the sto\'e, \\ here the heat is less. 

 Watch it carefully and try it frequently. .\s soon as it is sufftcienth- 

 hard, remove it from the stove and pour it into shallow dishes to cool, 

 lie careful not to get it too hard. If it is hard enough to retain its 

 form when placed over a colony of bees, that is sufficient. .\ thin cake 

 of such candy laid directly upon the frames over a colon}' of bees, and 

 til' 1 die whole to]) of the hive covered with a piece of enameled cloth, 

 L>\'o or three thicknesses of old carpet over that, will enable the bees 

 !o "hold the fort" as long as the cand\- lasts. If, for anv reason, it is 

 impossible or undesirable to place the canth- in this manner upon the 

 tops of the frames, the candy ma\' be "run" directly into emptv brood- 

 frames, and the frames hung in the hives adjoining the bees. To fill a 

 frame with candy, \. it upon a smooth board with a piece of paper 

 under the frame, and tour in the candy, after first waiting for it to 



