42 
On Ratio7ial Bee-Keeping. 
bees collect as they flit from one flower to 
another. They are sometimes covered with 
this dust when they return to the hive. As a 
rule they carry it, when collected, in a small 
cavity in their hind legs, to which the name of 
pollen-basket has been given, as we mentioned 
above. They use it mixed with honey to feed 
the young, and mixed with wax to seal up the 
cells when the young have been brought to 
perfection. 
Pollen, if stored in the combs in too large 
quantities, deteriorates in the winter under the 
influence of the damp ; but when preserved in 
good condition, the bees use it as early as 
January and February, for feeding the young. 
It is necessary, therefore, to ascertain in the 
spring and autumn whether the weight of a 
hive is caused by the honey which it contains, or 
by too large an accumulation of pollen. In the 
latter case, the bee-master may possibly see his 
colony die of hunger, imagining all the time 
that it is amply provided for. It is only by 
removing the comb that this fact can be ascer- 
tained. 
