8 
SPRING MANAGEMENT OF£BEES 
accumulated during the winter, and leave them to 
their fate. In such a condition the bees act in a very 
discouraged manner, as if life were not worth living, 
and queens die in the most unexpected manner. In 
the first place, the hive is, as a rule, too large for a 
small force of bees to keep warm and clean; and if 
exposed to the full sweep of the chilly airs of spring 
it is practically impossible for breeding to go on 
except in a limited manner in the center of the cluster. 
Much may be done to enable them to keep warm and 
comfortable by shielding from the prevailing winds. 
The inside temperature of the hive should be only 
a few degrees less than that of an egg incubatoj^ 
hence one can readily see the necessity for protectii^B 
of some sort, because the bees alone have to keep the 
hive warm by their own natural heat, which they can 
do by consuming considerable quantities of honey. In 
