BEE MANUAL. 247 



the back end of the hive should be within an inch or less of 

 the back of the floor-board ; the entrance will then only admit 

 of one or two bees going in or out at the same time, which will 

 enable the sentinels to guard it effectually, and will render it 

 impossible for the smallest of mice to force their way in. 



SECURING COVERS. 



It is equally important, in summer as in winter, to see that 

 all hive covers are impervious to wet, and not liable to be dis- 

 placed by sudden gusts of wind ; it is only more necessary to 

 look well to these points at the beginning of winter than at 

 other times, because the hives will not require to be so. con- 

 stantly under the eye of the bee-keeper during the few months 

 which are to follow, and indeed, if everything has been done 

 that ought to be done, the less the hives are meddled with 

 during that time the better. Not that I would recommend 

 leaving the apiary to take care of itself in winter, any more 

 than at the busy season of the year ; on the contrary, a prudent 

 bee-keeper will take care that a general outward inspection of 

 the hives is made every morning, if possible, to make sure that 

 nothing unusual has occurred, and occasionally to brush away 

 spiders and their webs. The security of the covers from being 

 displaced by wind will of course depend very much upon the 

 judicious shelter of the apiary. In some climates, however, 

 sudden violent gusts of wind, sometimes coming in the form of 

 small passing whirlwinds, cannot be well guarded against, and 

 in such cases it may be prudent to secure the covers to the 

 boxes by means of clasps or hooks and eyes. 



PROVIDING WINTER FORAGE. 



The necessity of attending to this point in a country 

 where the bees fly and work all through the year, and 

 the facilities for doing so in these colonies by the planting 

 of such evergreens — especially acacias and eucalypti — as 

 are peculiarly suited to the climate, and which afford honey 

 and pollen all though the winter and early spring months, will 

 be found fully dwelt upon in the chapter upon " Bee Forage," 

 to which it is only necessary in this place to direct special 

 attention. 



