(2) There should never be any condensed moisture on the covers of the hives, and certainly never any on the bottoms.
(3) While, the cellar should be kept dark at all times, if a candle is held at the entrance of a hive at the end of January it should be several seconds before any of the bees break cluster. Frequently the cellar doors may be opened in March without disturbing the bees.
(4) There should never be many dead bees on the bottom of the hives. The live bees should be able to push them out as they die during the winter. The bees thus carried out will be found on the cellar floor just below the entrances. If there are bees all over the floor, it shows that these bees have flown from the hives--an indication of poor wintering.
(5) The bees should be quiet during the late winter. Noise at this time indicates that the bees are disturbed by an accumulation of feces, caused by low temperatures or poor food.
(6) If the bees were in good condition in the fall and have been wintered well, the loss during the winter will never be more than one-sixth of the total population of the hive. Such a loss is excessive, however, and in a well-wintered colony it may be as low as a hundred bees. This probably depends to a large extent on the age of the bees which go into winter, and if the temperature is right and the stores good there will be almost no loss of vigorous bees.
(7) The bees should not leave the hive while they are being carried from the cellar. If they do, it indicates that they are excited by an accumulation of feces.
(8) Before removal from the cellar there should be no spotting of the hives from dysentery. There may be a little spotting after the bees have had a free flight outside, but if this is small in amount it does not indicate a serious condition.
(9) When the bees are taken from the cellar there should be no moldy combs, for the cellar at the right temperature will be too dry for the growth of molds.
(10) There should be no brood when the colonies are taken from the cellar. Brood-rearing in the cellar is proof that the cellar is too cold or that the food used by the bees is inferior.
(11) Enough brood should be in each colony at the opening of the main honey-flow to fill completely 12 Langstroth frames.