queen cells well fed - If I can winter over two or three will see whether in the
Spring they are hopeless drone layers - May not disposition to pair last
until queens begin to lay or are fed to lay? I have an unfertile queen
caged in a nucleus where another unfertile queen has her liberty. If she lives
till drones and is then liberated may she not pair? May not caging young
queens even for months them to pair when liberated - not being fed to lay?
Some rain a mere sprinkle and more wind than for a long time - December (1st) [illegible]
27 degrees 39 degrees - Cold wind - but beautiful day for the beginning of winter - Yesterday and
today have perfected my long shaving winter passage and my improved plan for getting surplus
honey - [crossed out: both] [inserted: each] as it seems to me a substamtial advance in practical beekeeping
2nd 36 degrees 63 degrees - Strong southerly wind - Sun red as in Indian Summer - bees flew very
briskly - 9 P. M. 50 degrees (3rd) 50 degrees 65 degrees 9 P. M. 64 degrees In A. M. - showery - Saw a
drone on the wing in colony which retained its drones so long - (4th) 58 degrees 48 degrees
Showery during the night - a truly blessed rain - Cisterns nearly all
exhausted - many wells dry - wheat beginning to perish - Wind changed
to NW - cloudy all day - A beautiful Ligurian queen born in October began
to lay in nucleus Nov. 7th - Gave her to a full colony Nov. 8th - Today found her
brood hatching and a few egg - no unsealed larvae! (5th) 37 degrees 39 degrees 34 degrees Sour - cloudy
NE - wind - Exchanged two queens caging them 27 hours - well received - Desired to
get an imported queen into a stronger colony. (6th) 28 degrees 35 degrees - Cold drizzling rain
 (7th) 40 degrees 38 degrees - Cloudy - raw [crossed out: (8th) 28 degrees] Good rain last night - (8th) 28 degrees 40 degrees Beautiful
day - bees flew some - Imported exchanged queen has laid a number of eggs. (9th) 32 degrees 40 degrees
Cold drizzle in A. M. - clear at sunset (10th) 30 degrees 49 degrees - Bees flying briskly - beautiful day
 (11th) 28 degrees 50 degrees - Cloudy most of the day - Imported exchanged queen has eggs and larvae!
Another queen examined today in a very much stronger stock had not an egg - This
the case with the large majority of stocks (12th) 48 degrees 55 degrees 24 degrees Bees flew early - about lO A. M. 
wind changed to N. W. - strong cold wind - thermometer falling rapidly - Two more very strong stocks
had no eggs - Put on corncobs today (see Da) In looking at stock and nuclei find bees
when densely clustered in the empty cells - to concentrate more and economize best (18th) 20 degrees 25 degrees 12 degrees
Cloudy this A. M. - first winter day - very searching wind (14th) 3 degrees 12 degrees 6 degrees Clear - searching wind
In a small nucleus (long winter passages) queen caged well cared for - Have a number of nuclei
which seem all right - If they can bear below zero shall put them in cellar - If they had not
the long winter passages they would have perished before this (15th) 1 degree 14 degrees 5 degrees Clear - some wind
My attack of jaundice has caused great delay in cobing hives - On the 13th put a thermometer on top
of frames of a strong stock no honey board on - they swarmed upon it and for hours did not leave it!
Notice even in this cold weather when I set corncobs on the bees swarm up on top of frames - anything
now attracts their attention and is carefully examined - notice a few bees all alone frozen in combs
some just at the entrance of long passage - Imprudent bees - foolish - you cannot arrange so as to
cause every bee to take care of itself - Last night brought in some nuclei - One left out
quite small this A. M. - was suffering - Cover over frames of all of them coated with frost - Have
left only one out - carpet doubled laid under [inserted: its] cover - Last night very still - bees were all humming
loudly (16th) 8 degrees 27 degrees 22 degrees - Cloudy at 6 P. M. - began to snow - In fitting cob covers over hives
this P. M. noticed some curious things - Day before yesterday shut up corner bottom holes in most
of the hives not cobed with paper wads - All the honey-boards were left off and the upper covers were
quite loose with corners wrapped I felt no solicitude as to their not having air enough - In
[inserted: removing and] setting down a top cover to put on cob cover found tops of frames covered with dead bees. 
Moving the frames not a live bee could be seen! In returning the cover found a mass
of bees clustered up on it!! Bees had in no way been disturbed. Why did they go