Carrying out the directions given last month for preparing the hives for winter, must not be delayed later than the middle of September. All our colonies being strong and having plenty of stores, they should now be wrapped up warmly and left undisturbed until next spring. Two American flour bags placed over the quilts will be quite enough extra covering, or one of these stuffed with a little dry barley straw will answer the purpose even better, providing a warm covering over the frames from two to three inches thick. An inspection should be made of the roofs of the hives, and if they are not thoroughly weather-proof, two coats of good white-lead paint should be applied to them. The size of the entrance must not be reduced to less than three inches. The quieter bees are kept during the winter the better they come out in the spring. Being snowed up will not hurt them as long as they get sufficient air to breathe, which they will do through two or three feet of light snow. In the middle of a warm day in February, when the bees are flying freely, it will do no harm to lift a corner of the quilts and take note of the amount of sealed stores they still possess, if care be taken not to expose and disturb them more than is necessary. If they seem to be running short of food, a box containing soft candy should be given to them over the feed-hole. Feeding liquid food would excite the bees too much so early in the year, and it should not be done until the beginning of April. If the stores are almost exhausted, feeding with candy or syrup will have to be kept up until the bees are able to find enough honey in the fields to support themselves. In some districts this may not be until June. On the other hand, it is a mistake to keep feeding our bees unless they really require it. March and April are often trying months for the bees, the sudden changes of temperature being very unfavourable to bee-life. Colonies that are not very strong may become so reduced in numbers that they “pull through” only with difficulty, and afterwards require the whole of the following season to regain their full strength, yielding neither honey nor swarms. On the other hand, strong colonies, under favourable conditions, during the latter part of April and May, will increase so rapidly that, unless they are given plenty of room inside the hive in good time, they will make preparations for swarming, which the bee-keeper, who wishes to work for honey and not swarm, will find it difficult to check. The usual way to give the bees more room in the spring is by inserting a frame or foundation, or of empty comb in the centre of the brood-nest. If, however, the bees are not quite strong enough to take it, and a spell of cold weather follows, some of the brood may get chilled and this will be a worse disaster than an over-crowded hive.