322 AUSTRALASIAN 
increase is required all precautions should be taken to prevent 
swarming at this time. Remove sections as soon as completely 
sealed, and place them in the honey house for a few days to 
ripen before packing them for market; take care that there 
are no bee moths in the house. Extract as often as necessary 
the surplus honey in frames. 
FEBRUARY. 
This is sometimes a hot dry month with a scarcity of bee 
forage toward the latter part. Beware of robber bees as soon 
as honey gathering slackens. The first month or six weeks 
after the close of the honey season is the worst time for 
robbing. If necessary to open a hive while robbers are about 
use a bee tent to cover it. Keep down weeds and tall grass 
around the hives. 
MARCH. 
Breeding will now begin to diminish, and a gocd look-out 
should be kept for queenless stocks. All poor queens should 
be superseded. With occasional showers the autumn flowers 
now coming into blossom will yield some nectar which will 
provide winter stores. Timber should now be stacked under 
cover to season for making into hives and frames during the 
winter. Look out for robbers ; contract entrances if necessary. 
Rape and mustard seeds may now be sown for early spring 
forage. 
APRIL. : 
Any eolonies likely to be short of food for winter stores 
should be supplied with sufficient towards the end of the 
month. There should be from 25lbs. to 35lbs. in each hive at 
the commencement of winter, All implements in the honey- 
house and apiary, for which there is no further use, should be 
cleaned and stowed snugly away till required again. 
MAY. 
Now will be the time to prepare the hives for winter by 
removing all boxes not occupied by bees. Unite all weak and 
queenless colonies, also queen-rearing nuclei, and see that all 
are well supplied with food. Contract entrances and cover 
the frames with an extra mat as the weather becomes cooler. 
