MANAGEMENT OF HONEY-BEES.-NO. 8. 
115 
packed in bags containing about one hundred and 
sixty pounds each, net weight. No rain or dew 
should be permitted to fall on it after cutting, for 
even the damp from the hold of a ship will injure 
its quality greatly. 
MANAGEMENT OF HONEY-BEES.—No. 8. 
In order to prevent the bees from leaving their 
hives too freely, in the winter season, a free circu¬ 
lation of air is essential at the bottom. The bottom- 
board, however, cannot be allowed to remain as it 
does during the summer, open on all sides, for sev¬ 
eral reasons; one of which is, and sufficient, that 
the bees are liable to become chilled while resting 
upon it, and also to be blown off while in a state 
of torpor. 
As soon as cold blustering weather sets in, gene¬ 
rally in November, I take cotton wadding, and with 
a knife press it under the sides of my hives, all 
around, excepting in front. I do not press it be¬ 
yond the inner surface of the hives, if the cotton 
retain its position permanently. On such side as is 
most exposed to cold winds, I leave a space of about 
an inch, as an*air-hole; and through this aperture, 
a current of fresh air is constantly keeping the bees 
cool and healthy, without any desire to leave their 
habitation, unless the weather be very mild, and 
then in small numbers. 
The state most congenial to the nature of the bee, 
in the winter season, is that of hybernation , or tor¬ 
pidity ; and the bee, whose days are few at most, 
shortens its life by every day of activity from De¬ 
cember to March; and every day of torpor is a 
lease of life extended. If then, the life of the bee 
is limited to one year, and the dormant state of the 
winter months is not brought into account, how 
very important it is to keep them as long as possible 
in that condition. When I commenced keeping 
bees, on the approach of winter I placed my hive 
in a very warm nook of my premises, where the 
rays of the sun roused the whole swarm into mo¬ 
tion, and I congratulated myself on being able to 
afford my bees such unusually warm accommoda¬ 
tions ; but I soon found out my mistake, for my 
bees died so rapidly that I verily believe, had I not 
removed them to a cooler place, not one in ten 
would have survived till spring. 
Spring Management .—The queen commences her 
spring laying on the approach of mild weather, in 
March or April. Even in February, should we 
have two or three weeks of warm weather, she may 
commence her spring laying. The indications of 
this are the activity of the bees in going abroad, 
and their return loaded with pellets of pollen upon 
their thighs. The latter is a sure indication. Should 
this be the case as early as in the month of Febru¬ 
ary, in the latitude of New York, the bees will be 
placed in a very critical situation ; for cold weather 
must, as a matter of course, intervene before the 
approach of settled mild weather. Under such cir¬ 
cumstances, should the weather continue mild, the 
bees will consume more honey in a week than 
during a month of steady cold weather; and if their 
supply be not abundant, feeding in the general way 
as before described, should be resorted to. In any 
case, when spring opens prematurely, the greatest 
care is necessary, for the reason that if the bees 
are on short allowance, their destruction is inevita¬ 
ble, unless they be fed. It is recommended by some 
experienced apiarians, to put a little salt, and also 
a little wine or ale, into their food, in the spring. 
As the experiment will cost little or nothing, it may 
be as well to try it. 1 have tried it, but whether 
my bees were invigorated thereby I cannot say; 
yet from the voracity with which they demolished 
it, I am sure that temperance restrictions have not, 
as yet, been enacted in their code of laws. 
Those who may adopt my plan of filling in 
around the bottom-board with cotton, should close 
the aperture on the back of the hive, as soon as 
the laying season commences, as the ova are hatched 
by internal heat, generated by the bees themselves; 
and a current of cold air passing under them at this 
time would be detrimental. As soon as the weather 
becomes sufficiently warm to warrant it, say about 
the first of May, or later, the cotton may be wholly 
withdrawn. I use cotton solely from its conve¬ 
nience ; anything else that will effectually close the 
side will do as well. The bottom-board might be 
drawn up in close contact with the hive, and a 
separate opening made for the bees to enter, but it 
is objectionable. The currents of air from behind 
could not be obtained so easily, and the bees require 
an easy outlet, not above the surface of the bottom- 
board, in order to remove their dead, and other 
sources of pollution. The moth-worm always 
shows itself (wherever any foothold has been ob¬ 
tained) in the spring. Its object then is to find a 
convenient place under cover to wind itself up in 
a cocoon, from whence issues the winged moth, 
ready to commence its depredations. At this season, 
the bees may be seen, some half dozen, tugging 
away at a worm, and when they get one on the 
edge of the bottom-board, two or three will fly 
away with it some feet from the hive. Now, when 
the bees have to ascend some one or two inches 
from the bottom to get out of their hives, it is 
almost impossible for them to drag these worms out; 
but when the opening is flush with the bottom, and 
extending the whole side, these worms fall of their 
own gravity frequently, if not the bees soon clear 
them off. These worms often show themselves in 
hives in the spring, in small numbers, where no 
injury has been sustained by the stock, and they 
should not be regarded as ominous of serious evil. 
Should the bees be placed in any situation cooler 
than that which is intended for them in the summer, 
such as on the north side of some building (which 
is a good plan in a mild winter), they should be 
kept in that position till permanent mild weather; 
but care should be taken not to leave them too long, 
as their spring increase might be greatly retarded 
thereby. The great object of every one should, at 
this season, be to get early swarms. One swarm in 
May is worth two in June. 
From the 10th of May to the 10th of June, is 
the legitimate season of swarming in this vicinity, 
and it is the season of the greatest interest to the 
apiarian. Who has not watched his bees during 
this period with the greatest solicitude ? Who has 
not felt a purer joy on beholding the heavens dark¬ 
ened by some powerful swarm, than if he had found 
a treasure ? With what interest the eye follows 
the revolving cloud ! Presently, a nucleus is formed 
