11 
of thellive to tlie south-east, and the front to the north 
west. We then take hay or good straw, press it in be- 
tween the hives and on the back, and then take fodder 
and tie it up in sheaves and set them up close together 
on the back of the hives. This protects the bees from the 
rays of the sun and keeps a regular temperature in the 
hives and the bees are not tempted out when it is too 
cold for them. There are more bees lost in winter 
from the heat of the sun than from the cold. 
The back edge of the hive will rest, on the crossboard 
on your bench. This will close the hive at the back. — 
You will now close the front so as to leave about two 
inches for your bees to work out at but so small that a 
mouse can not get in. You will have your ventilator 
in your bench all right, then place an empty cap over 
the aperture in the lid of the hive, with a small wedge 
under the side so some air will pass in and out. "S ou 
will now set fodder in front, bound in sheaves, being 
careful to have one sheaf right in front of each hive so 
you can take it down to give your bees egress and in- 
f ress when the temperature is warm enough for your 
ees to fly, placing it back when it is cold. This, I 
think, is a very good and cheap way to winter bees in 
the climate of Ohio. The bee keeper should notice his 
bees every two or three weeks through the winter. 
FEEDING BEES. 
We say this may be done, but we never try to bring 
weak colony through the winter if we can add them to 
a strong one in the fall. This you may do with the Mc- 
Donald Hive, but when we do feed, wc do it in the fol- 
lowing manner. Take strained or inferior honey or 
the best of sugar, run it into molasses, boil and skim 
it then bake a loaf of corn bread one and one-half 
inches thick, split it through the middle, bake with 
Borne salt, and no grease. Then pour your molasses on 
the bread place it on a plate, put it uuder the bees so 
the comb will touch the bread and close your hives to 
prevent robbers from carrying it away. This should be 
