to empty [illegible] - in perfect health. No trouble in wintering as many nuclei
as I please in my cellar - This the way to have early queens for sale - and to
have a good start - send off queens when those reared to replace them can become
fertile - Examined a colony out of doors with carpet and cob box - over
woolen carpet - rag carpet much cotton - woolen carpet dry - rag
carpet quite damp - wool - wool - wool -not cotton! These bees a few days
ago on left side of hive - today have moved over bodily to right side - the
sunniest side! Another large colony did not seem to have begun breeding - Another
small one had eggs just laid - No certainty as to time winter breeding begins. 
 (5th) 35 degrees Rain - sleet - snow (6th) 21 degrees [crossed out: 29 degrees 30 degrees] 32 degrees Clear (7th) 14 degrees 32 degrees Splendid
day (8th) 28 degrees Some snow last night - Cloudy today (9th) 21 degrees 34 degrees Variable. 
 (10th) 20 degrees 24 degrees Some snow flurries. (11th) 12 degrees 24 degrees Splendid still winter day. 
 (12th) 12 degrees 24 degrees Snow in P. M. At 9 P. M. 22 degrees - Rain! freezing as it fell. (13th) 32 degrees 41 degrees
Heavy ice on trees - thawed off (14th) 34 degrees Snow last night - some this A. M. damp
cloudy (15th) 21 degrees 26 degrees Variable � Splendid sleighing (16th) 16 degrees 36 degrees In P. M. began to
sno with wind - Winter thus far very uniform (17th) 6 degrees 42 degrees Clear - sharp wind
Other thermometers 10 degrees 0 degrees - Coldest day thus far 18 degrees 3 degrees 10 degrees Cloudy. (19th) 4 degrees 22 degrees
Cloudy. (20th) 18 degrees 22 degrees Snow last night and all day. (21st) 16 degrees 26 degrees Over a foot of snow
has fallen - cloudy
Feb. 29th 1868 - For matters relating to bees as noticed and recorded by me
for the last few weeks, see under head of Cobs, Straw, Wool, etc. 
for hives. My bees have wintered unusually well. Winter has been one of great but
uniform cold - few changes. Lowest range of thermometer, -6 degrees Today 14 degrees - 34 degrees. Clear, still. 
Bees flew into the boxes for meal feeding (wheat flour spread on straw) quite briskly
even when mercury 26! Could see them wet meal with honey from their proboscis -could
taste the pellets -sweet. Brood well advanced for the season. Find it very
easy to feed sweetened water by dipping clean wool into it. This put accessible
above or even back of frames by opening ventilator - bees suck it dry readily
and only now and then is one tangled in it. Shall try vessels filled with wool
saturated with sweetened water at first and then simply water to be used
when weather pleasant enough for bees to fly - set in sunny sheltered places. Think
that bees might get water thus to great advantage - better than on straw
in water. Fruit buds all sound - promise of a great blossoming. As bees are well
supplied with honey and have good promise of early supplies still do all I
can by stimulative feeding and water - and meal - to induce them to push
their brood - hoping to have most of the stocks ready to swarm or work in boxes
by the time the locust trees blossom - say last week in May. Shall look to
the Gould-Alley (small boxes with single comb each) plan for surplus honey,
as I am satisfied it will be most saleable in this form. Propose to work as
many as possible of the strong stocks in 13 frame hives on this plan, and to increase
the stocks only moderately - say one swarm from two. March 16th - Bees have wintered
unusually well. Mercury yesterday [inserted 40 degrees] 70 degrees Today 60 degrees [crossed out 66 degrees] [inserted: 70 degrees] Yesterday saw bees with the