358 
Beekeeping 
Years ago it was asserted 1 that the presence of pollen in the 
hive where the bees could eat it is responsible for dysentery, 
but later work and the experience of beekeepers do not war¬ 
rant this conclusion. A suggestion made by Holterman is 
worthy of consideration in this connection. He advocates 
giving each colony ten pounds of sugar in the form of syrup 
late in the fall to be sure they have enough food. This 
serves another purpose, perhaps not fully appreciated. The 
syrup will be stored next to the cluster, the bees will then 
use it first and, since it contains no gums, the accumulation 
, of feces cannot occur until the syrup is exhausted. 
Spring dwindling. 
If the colony goes into winter quarters with few young 
bees or if by excessive activity during the winter because 
of poor care they age rapidly, the adult bees are often unable 
to do the work required of them when brood-rearing begins. 
Then they may die more rapidly than they are replaced by 
the emerging bees. To this condition the name spring 
dwindling is applied. Obviously the proper course is to 
prevent the condition. The prolonging of brood-rearing in 
the fall and especially the giving of proper care in winter, in¬ 
cluding good food and protection from cold, will prevent this 
condition. If it should occur, it may be reduced somewhat 
by abundant protection from cold and wind in the spring. 
A final word of qualification should be inserted here at 
the close of the discussion of the care of bees in winter. 
An effort has been made to give the best advice possible in 
the light of our present limited knowledge of this subject. 
As the investigations proceed, some of the statements here 
made may need qualification, and indeed with the facts at 
hand some of them could be limited more than they now are. 
1 Heddon, Jas., 1885. Success in bee culture. Dowagiac, Mich. 
