A little honey may be added with advantage after the mixture has been removed from the fire--but not before, or the whole will boil over and be wasted. The honey will often prevent the candy from becoming too hard to be of use to the bees. =When Bees Refuse Food.=--There are times when the bees will refuse to avail themselves of food, and when such is the case it is certain that there is a reason for it. The bee-keeper should try to ascertain what this may be without unnecessarily disturbing the bees and provided that the weather is suitable to an examination of the hive. _Starvation_ is often a cause of bees declining the food, or, rather, not availing themselves of it. Hives that have been purchased may be so short of food that the bees are too weak, to exert themselves to get to the food supplied. In such cases the application of a little heat to the hive will generally work, wonders. It may be done by warming some common bricks and placing them on the quilt, after closing the entrance to the hive. Care must be taken that the bricks are not too hot or the combs will be melted. Such a proceeding will sometimes revive bees that are practically dying from starvation, so that they will take full advantage of any food that is offered to them. This remedy may be applied in spring to moribund hives. _Fermenting or Granulated food_ in the combs are other causes of the bees declining to take other food. The first condition is usually brought about through excessive moisture in or around the hive. Honey that is gathered in late autumn, or syrup that is supplied to the bees, may not become sufficiently ripe in the cells to be sealed by the bees, and fermentation ensues. =Old Honey Stores.=--If when examining the hives in spring it should be found that there is any considerable quantity of dark coloured honey left over from their winter store it is advisable to persuade the bees to use it for brood-rearing. The cells in such combs should be uncapped and placed near the centre of the brood-nest. All old stores should thus be used up if possible, otherwise they may spoil the colour and flavour of the new honey. Should anything be the matter with the hive or bees, try to rectify it; but, if the case be hopeless, burn or otherwise destroy the whole rather than run any risk of contamination to other bees from disease. CHAPTER IX =How to Secure the Harvest of the Hive= AS already mentioned, the use of the bar-framed hive is now considered essential to profitable bee-keeping, and in previous chapters many hints have been given as to the working of certain details connected with it. There are, however, matters connected directly with the gathering and harvesting of honey which have yet to be dealt with.