186 



THE MMERIC?tP«« BE® JQlffRIfSIEr. 



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The F«rc(1ing: of Syrup to Itees. 



This should be used only as a for- 

 lorn hope, when the bees' natural food 

 is not to be had, for a laboi-er is 

 worthy of his hire, whether a bee or a 

 human being. It is not particular 

 what kind of sugar is used for making 

 syrup in the spring, when the bees can 

 fly everj' fc^v days ; but, in the fall, 

 nothing but the very choicest will 

 answer. 



I generally pour boiling water upon 

 the sugar in a pitcher, and stir it up 

 with a spoon, making a thin syrup, 

 which I feed warm. The undissolved 

 sugar will settle in the bottom, and it 

 should be allowed to settle, for it will 

 harden in the feeders, and become 

 bothersome. 



Feeders and Robbing'. 



I have many dilTerent kinds, and use 

 them according to time, place and 

 condition. If I desire to feed liquid 

 honey or syrup when it is cool weather, 

 and am desirous of keeping all the 

 warmth possible in the cluster, a one- 

 pint Mason jar, with a perforated 

 cover, answers the purpose admirably, 

 as it can be turned over a small hole, 

 and the bees take it through the per- 

 forations. I have tried the quart jars 

 in the same way, but the result was 

 not satisfactorj' in my hands, for the 

 syrup came down faster than the bees 

 could take it, and it would run from 

 the hive and be wasted. It needs to 

 be set perfectly level, and then it will 

 not run out. 



Wooden vessels answer the purpose 

 much better for feeders than those 

 having a smooth surface, like tin, 

 glass or earthen-ware. If a tin or 

 glass vessel .should be tilled with liquid 

 honey or syrup, and be accessible to 

 bees, in a very short time they would 

 be a writhing, struggling, drowning 

 mass ; while, if the same quantity were 

 in a wooden vessel, every bee would 

 get out. 



Bees appear to be able to take a grip 

 on wood, which thi'y cannot do on 

 other surfaces. Small wooden-l)owls, 

 or butter-dishos, if they do not leak, 

 make good feeders. I once showed to 

 a bee-keeper a feeder that was cut out 

 of wood, bj- a wabbling saw. He said 

 that it would get full of drowning 

 bees. He was mistaken, however, for 

 I filled it immediately with syrup, put 

 it over a strong colony, and in a very 

 short time it was clean and dry with- 

 out a dead bee. Any sort of a vessel 

 can be used, if it is tilled with chopped 

 straw or shavings. 



In all feeding operations, care must 

 be exercised lest robbing be induced. 

 When food is placed in the upper story 

 of a hive, if bees from the outside can 

 gain admittance, the colony will soon 

 be taken by storm, and stores stolen. 



DIVIDINa 



Coloniei to Secure Increase 

 Explained. 



Written for the. American Bee Journal 



BV J. M. HICKS. 



In compliance with a promise made 

 to the members of our Indiana State 

 Bee-Keepers' Societj', I will give my 

 favorite method of dividing colonies 

 for judicious increase and profit. This, 

 of course, depends much upon the con- 

 dition of the colony, which should be 

 full of brood and worker bees, as if 

 they were to be left to swarm in the 

 old or natural way. This condition 

 can readily be known in several ways, 

 viz : 



First, we usually find them quite 

 well supplied with drones, which come 

 out to play late in the afternoon. 



Second, we can also know, by open- 

 ing a hive that is full of bees and 

 brood, with a good, prolific ((ueen, 

 actively laying eggs in the brood- 

 frames ; also (|iiite a number of drone- 

 cells may be found sealed over in the 

 combs, all of which are requisite for 

 the welfare of the future of the new 

 colony. 



We can now examine the frames of 

 brood, and when we find the sheet or 

 frame on which the queen is busj' lay- 

 ing eggs, lift it carefully out, and hang 

 it in a new hive of the same size and 

 pattern, replacing the vacant space in 

 the full colony with a new frame, and 

 if filled with good empty comb, so 

 much the better. 



Now close up both hives, and move 

 the old colony to a new location ; then 

 place the new hive with the one frame 

 of brood and (pieen where the old hive 

 stood, and you will have the satisfac- 

 tion of seeing the working-force re- 

 turn to the new hive, and with their 

 queen, where all will be peace and 

 harmony, and in less than 48 hours a 

 fine, strong colony of bees can be seen 

 working with a will. 



From the old colony made queen- 

 less (in order to make the " artificial" 

 swarm, as above mentioned), at the 

 end of 8 or 9 d.ays we can with safety 

 cut out several queen-cells and insert 

 one or more in any other colony or 

 colonies that may be queenless ; or, if 

 desirable, other new colonies can then 

 be made by taking a frame or two 

 from stroTig colonies, and thus re- 

 ([ueen all new or " artificial " swarms, 

 saving much valuable time. Always 

 leave one or two (jueen-cells in the old 

 colony, that they may hatch and rear 

 a queen for themselves. 



I would further add, that it will be 

 better by far to save all of the best 

 empty or old combs in order to refill 

 empty or new frames for the bees, thus 



saving much precious time for the 

 bees, as well as many pounds of the 

 best honey, which is alw.ays gathered 

 in the forepart of the season. Look 

 well to the bees ! 

 Indianapolis, Ind. 



BEE-CULTURE 



Considered as a Branch of 

 Agriculture. 



Read at the Illinois Farmers' Institute 



BY G. A. GROSS. 



There is probably no branch of 

 farming so generally neglected and so 

 little understood as that of bee-keep- 

 ing. If it cannot be said of every 

 farmer, that he can keep bees success- 

 fully, still there are many that with a 

 little intelligent care could cause their 

 bees to make a welcome addition to 

 their income. 



It is not an occupation that is re- 

 stricted to men only — many a farmer's 

 wife or daughter would find it a fasci- 

 nating pursuit, as well as an easy way 

 of being independent of "father's 

 pocket>book ;" for the work is not 

 hard, nor does it demand one's whole 

 time. One daily visit to the hives, 

 taking only a few minutes, a little ex- 

 tra watching at swarming time, the 

 putting on and taking off of sections — 

 this certainlj^ is not work that will 

 overta.x a woman's strength. All over 

 our land are f<iund women who rank 

 among the most successful apiarists. 



I have frequently heard the remark, 

 that this is not a good countrj' for 

 bees, and until six years ago I would 

 have heartily endorsed that opinion, 

 for I had kept bees for 18 years, and 

 never had much success with them. 

 Finallj' I lost my Last colony, and came 

 very nearly giving up the pursuit. But 

 at that time I read an article about the 

 modern improvements in bee-keeping, 

 became interested again, sent for a 

 book describing the new way of hand- 

 ling bees, bought one hive, and started 

 anew, trying to take the best care of the 

 bees. As a result, at the end of four 

 years I had 70 colonies, had sold con- 

 siderable honey, and two j'ears' more 

 work with the bees, has confirmed me 

 in the opinion that our county is as 

 good a place to keep bees as any in 

 the United States, with the exception 

 of California. 



With our variety of flowei's, coming 

 as they do at intervals during the sum- 

 mer, we possess a great advantage 

 over the northern part of our country 

 which is celebrated for its large yiekls 

 of honey. 



In this county (Bond), up to Aug. 

 10, 1888, the season had been the 

 poorest on record — no swarms and no 



