258 
Beekeeping 
best to unite these with normal colonies, although queens 
may now be obtained early from southern breeders. He 
should also examine the stores, for bees require large amounts 
of food during the spring and, while they usually get consid¬ 
erable nectar, it rarely is enough to provide stores for exces¬ 
sive breeding. If food is needed, it may be given rapidly 
in the form of a thick sugar syrup, or it is even better to give 
combs of honey. If hives are soiled with the spottings of 
dysentery or if there are dead bees present, the hives may be 
cleaned out somewhat, but the first examination should be 
brief, unless the weather is exceptionally warm. 
Spring dwindling. 
The old bees die rapidly and are replaced by young bees, 
which, in a good colony, emerge more rapidly than the old 
ones disappear. If, on the contrary, mortality among the 
old bees exceeds the rate of emergence, the condition arises 
which is known as spring dwindling. Obviously, prevention 
is better than treatment, but by giving extra protection and 
by making the collection of stores unnecessary by feeding, 
the energy of the old bees may be conserved so that it is 
utilized chiefly in rearing brood and the colony may often 
be saved. The brood-chamber may also be reduced to con¬ 
serve the heat of the cluster. 
Need of water. 
Bees need water for brood-rearing and it sometimes hap¬ 
pens in the spring that bees are lost in trying to obtain it. 
If there is no water close at hand, it is often advantageous 
to provide a watering place in a warm sheltered spot in or 
near the apiary. 
^Uniting. 
If exceptionally weak colonies are found, it is economy 
not to attempt to build them up, but to unite them. In 
uniting colonies in the spring, two weak colonies should 
not be placed together, but a weak colony should be placed 
