54 
closing all the ventilators and contracting the entrance 
of the hive to one inch or less during the winter season. 
SEPTEMBER MANAGEMENT OF BEES IN KIDDER’S 
COMPOUND HIVE. 
To reduce bee-keeping to a practicable system of 
management, I have adopted the following plan or" 
arrangement : to divide it into twelve distinct sections 
or chapters, representing each month in the year, thus 
forming a complete “ Bee-keepers’ Almanac,” commenc- 
ing with September and telling how to manage your 
bees each month in the year. 
In the month of September the honey season is usu- 
ally drawing to a close, and it is necessary to attend to 
your bees for the coming winter. .For this purpose 
you should supply yourself with a fumigation pipe and 
some tobacco, to fumigate your bees with. First fumi- 
gate your bees by blowing a little smoke in at the 
entrance of your hive, waiting a moment or two, and 
then removing the cap ; should there be any bees present 
in the boxes, blow a little smoke in at the top of the 
box. If the gauze should be waxed over, it may be 
picked out with the point of a knife or pin. By blow- 
ing in a little smoke the bees will readily go down into 
the body part of the hive ; this done, the surplus honey 
boxes may now be removed ; then commence on one 
side of the hive, and, with a pocket-knife, loosen one of 
the frames ; remove it from the hive, look it carefully 
over and see if it is well stored with honey and bee- 
bread ; see if there is any young brood or eggs present. 
This can easily be done by gently pushing the bees 
aside with the fingers. Examine all the combs in this 
way. If plenty of honey, bee-bi;ead, young bees or 
