on the bare earth--the proportion (in
my opinion) lost on the snow would not be one in twenty. A person that
has not closely observed during damp or chilly weather, in April, May,
or even the summer months, has no adequate conception of the number.
Yet, I do not wish to be understood that it is of no consequence what
are lost on the snow, by any means. On the contrary, a great many are
lost, that might be saved with proper care. But I would like to impress
the fact, that frozen earth is not safe without warm air, any more than
snow, when crusted, or a little hard. Even when snow is melting, it is
solid footing for a bee; they can and do rise from it, with the same
ease as from the earth. Bees that perish on snow in these
circumstances, would be likely to be lost if there was none.

STOCKS TO BE PROTECTED ON SOME OCCASIONS.

The worst time for them to leave the hive is immediately after a new
snow has fallen, because if they light on it then, it does not sustain
their weight; and they soon work themselves down out of the rays of the
sun, and perish. Should it clear off pleasant, after a storm of this
kind, a little attention will probably be remunerated. Also, when the
weather is moderately warm, and not sufficiently so to be safe, they
should be kept in, whether snow is on the ground or otherwise.

For this purpose, a wide board should be set up before the hive to
protect it from the sun, at least above the entrance in the side. But
if it grows sufficiently warm so that bees leave the hive when so
shaded, it is a fair test by which to tell when it will do to let them
have a good chance to sally out freely, except in cases of a new snow,
when it is advisable to confine them to the hive. The hive might be let
down on the floor-board, and the wire-cloth cover the passage in the
side, and made dark for the present; raising the hive at night again,
as before. I have known hundreds of stocks wintered successfully
without any such care being taken, and the bees allowed to come out
whenever they chose to do so. Their subsequent health and prosperity
proving that it is not altogether ruinous. It has been recommended to
enclose the whole hive by a large box set over it, and made perfectly
dark, with means for ventilation, &c. (A snow-bank would answer equally
well, if not better.) For large families it would do well enough, as
would also other methods. But I would much rather take the chances of
letting them all stand in the