126 THE BLESSED BEES. 



a small amount of brood all winter, they will proba- 

 bly come out stronger in the spring than they were 

 in the fall. 



Bearing these principles in mind, I prepared for 

 winter. First the hives were looked over, and two 

 of the combs, having no brood, and the smallest 

 amount of honey, were taken out. In nearly every 

 case they were the end combs in front and rear. 

 The feeders were then brought into use again. 

 This time they were hung in the lower stories, in 

 the rear end. In each of the ten combs left in the 

 hive, there was some honey in the top part, about 

 two pounds to a comb, on an average. I fed to 

 each hive twelve pounds of honey, which the bees 

 quickly put in the combs, and capped a few days 

 later. The feeders were taken out as soon as the 

 feeding was done, and a close division board put in. 

 Then two narrow strips of board, one-half inch thick, 

 were laid one-half inch apart, lengthwise, of the 

 hives on top of the frames. The duck covers, which 

 had been used during the summer, were left off, 

 and the thick comforts, made by quilting woolen 

 carpet between common muslin, were put on. This 

 gave to every hive a warm absorbent cover. Im- 

 mediately under the cover, between the two strips 

 of board, there was the clear half-inch passage, from 

 end to end of the hive. As this passage was at the 

 top of the hive, where the warm air collects, it would 



