DECEMBER. 443 



DECEMBER. 



The same attention is necessary this month as in the two 

 preceding ; hut should the cold be intense, no operation 

 whatever should be performed on the hives. The motion 

 attending the examination is apt to disunite the bees, and 

 being attacked by the excessive cold, inevitable death is the 

 consequence. If snow be on the ground, close all the 

 entrances of the hives, and open them not until the snow 

 be thawed. As, however, it sometimes happens, that snow 

 remains a long time on the ground, and the confinement 

 of the bees for such a length of time might prove detri- 

 mental to them from a want of fresh air, it would be ad- 

 visable in the evening sometimes to open the entrances, 

 and close them again in the morning; or a cloudy day 

 might be selected for the renovation of air in the hives, as 

 there is no danger of the bees leaving them, but the bright 

 reflection of the snow is very apt to allure them abroad, 

 when they fall upon it and die. The safest method, how- 

 ever, is to affix the tin entrance to the hive, which entirely 

 prevents the departure of the bees, and at the same 

 time furnishes them with a constant succession of fresh 

 air. In the winter months, a great number of hives are 

 destroyed by the imprudence of the proprietor in allow- 

 ing the bees free egress from the hives ; their flight 

 should be positively prohibited, or only permitted on those 

 days, when the sun shines brightly, and there is no snow 

 on the ground. 



The feeding of bees during the cold of December ought 

 to be carefully avoided; the bees consume very little, and 

 grouped together between the combs, they appear almost in 

 a state of torpor ; should, however, there be any weak hives 

 in the apiary, select a mild, dry day for the purpose, and be 

 not sparing in the quantity, for it is better to give a suf- 

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