148 WINTERING. 



This is the greatest difficulty in northern bee-keeping. In the far 

 South bees often gather pollen and honey, at times through the winter 

 months. In such climates there is but little danger of loss in winter, 

 unless their stores are almost exhausted when the cold season comes. 

 But in the North, and especially in the far North, the bees gather noth- 

 ing from the fields for fully six months. Many experiments in winter- 

 ing have been made, within the past twenty years. At that time, and 

 even later, , the principal writers recommended wintering in cellars, but 

 more recently the tendency everywhere, except in the far north, where 

 continued uninterrupted cold weather lasts a long fime, has been 

 towards wintering on the summer stands. 



Throughout the Middle and Southern States we recommend only this 

 kind of wintering . If hives are properly prepared with gentle upward 

 ventilation, absorbing material, a supply of young bees, sufficient good 

 stores, and protected from the cold winds and unseasonable sunny days, 

 there need be little fear in wintering. 



PREPARATION FOB WINTER. 



This should be begun before the last honey season is over. See that 

 every colony has a good young fertile queen. Unite weak and queen- 

 less stocks. See that each hive has from twenty to thirty pounds of 

 good honey, with combs, which also contain bee-bread, for rearing 

 young bees, If later stores have been gathered from honey-dew, cider 

 mills, refuse from sugar refineries, or if the fall honey is very acid, they 

 should be extracted, and the hives supplied with combs of good dark 

 honey, set aside in summer with the honey from unsealed boxes, or 

 they should be fed with sugar syrup. Give in such cases from five to 

 ten pounds of sugar to each colony. 



Make a syrup, putting one part of water, by measure, to two parts of 



