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Show Let your bees severely alone in freezing freez-ing weather. Disturbance is injurious. It causes commotion in the cluster and an unnecessary consumption of food. Guard well the entrances from mice. If these pc-;t3 force an entrance they will eat tho huuey of the bees, mutilate the comb and perhaps ruin the colony. If entrances have not been already protected pro-tected h t it be done at once. It is done y tac king a slip of tin, an inch wide, on the upper side of entrance three-eighths three-eighths of an inch from bottom board. This will secure the safety of the colony. Mic e are not apt to cut into a solid board, and the upper part being tinned they will be defeated in all their attempts. Do not neglect to give those colonies, whenever the weather will allow, that have barely enough of provision, a fresh supply of tlto sugar paste described in a former article. It is made by grinding granulated sugar into (lour and then I working it into a paste or dough with extracted honey or sugar molasses. Put it on top of the frames over the cluster of bees on muslin perforated with holes here arid there for the bees to reach it. It is better to keep a surplus of food than to allow the colony to become destitute, des-titute, or nearly so, before feeding. Bees become weak when so reduced and are very difficult of recuperation. Lei all those who manufacture their own hives and bee fixtures be diligent ia making and paintiug their lijves while they have leisure. It is a good timo to repaint old hives, when the weather is suliicieiitly cold to keep the bees from flying, but not cold enough to freeze the paint. This saves transferring the bees into another hive for this purpose, says the Philadelphia Farm Journal. |