187 
Being thus accommodated with empty comb, and honey 
from above, kept warm by the rising heat from the 
bees, breeding begins fully one month sooner. 
Each comb should have a hole an inch in diameter 
cut through it, about five inches from its top, made 
with a long pen-knife, to enable the bees to reach their 
stores in adjoining combs without the danger of freez- 
ing, by leaving the cluster to pass around the edge of 
the frame. Combs of sufficient depth, in frames with 
central bars, as in the Champion hive, will not need 
cutting, as the bees generally leave openings directly 
above the central bars. If the hives are to be wintered 
in the open air, the entrance should be diminished, to 
exclude mice and retain as much of the heat of the 
heat of tne hive as possible. 
The vapor, arising from the breath of the bees, 
causes moisture in the hive, and, if not al loved to es- 
cape, or is not absorbed in some way, it will freeze, 
producing frost on the combs and innei side ot the 
hive ; on warm days during winter, the frost in the 
hive frequently melts, the water running over the bees 
and from the entrance, and during the night the watei 
is changed to ice and the bees are frequently a solid 
frozen cluster. 
To avoid this, upward ventilation should be furnished 
as soon as freezing weather begins. In the Champion 
hive, remove the second story, place the rool on the 
