116 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



SUGAR SYRUP FOR WINTER STORES. 



The past fall I fed quite a quantity of 

 sugar syrup, which I think is far ahead 

 of dark honey for wintering purposes. 

 Some colonies have scarcely anything 

 but sugar syrup stores, and are in full 

 better condition than those containing 

 all honey. 



If nothing prevents, another fall, I 

 shall extract from the brood-chamber at 

 the end of the honey-flow, and feed 

 sugar syrup in place of honey, which, in 

 my opinion, will be better for the bees 

 to winter on, and more profitable to my- 

 self. 



Transit Bridge, N. Y. 



Divided Colonies as Good as 

 from IVatural Swarming. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY J. li. WOOLDRIDGE. 



I noticed on page 790 (1892) the 

 question asked, and answered by several 

 prominent bee-men, as to whether or not 

 we can have divided colonies as strong 

 as natural swarms. It seems that the 

 most of those who answered the ques- 

 tion seemed to think that we could not. 

 Well, I did not answer the question, 

 and if I had been called upon I suppose 

 I would have left it to somebody more 

 competent than I to answer; but as it 

 was a Texas friend that asked the ques- 

 tion, may be my experience will be of 

 interest to nim. We are in about the 

 same climate, and I think his bees ought 

 to do as well as mine, that is, if he is in 

 as good a location as mine. 



Last spring I had only 7 colonies, and 

 I divided them early in the spring, and 

 took about 800 pounds of what I call 

 first-class honey, and increased from 7 

 to 20 colonies, all of which are in fine 

 condition for winter. 



Now I will tell how I divided, and how 

 the best colony built up, swarmed and 

 stored surplus honey after it was 

 divided, while there were several others 

 that did nearly as well. 



Late in the fall of 1891, I purchased 

 some select-tested Italian queens which 

 I introduced successfully. I divided 

 them some time during March the fol- 

 lowing spring. 



Of course I will tell about the one that 

 I think did the best. I moved this col- 

 ony just a little to one side, then put an 

 empty hive by it. I turned the entrance 

 a little to the right of what it was be- 

 fore, and turned the new one about as 



much to the left, with the rear ends 

 touching, and the front about 12 or 15 

 inches apart. Then I took about half 

 of the comb, honey and brood, and put 

 them into the empty hive, leaving the 

 queen in her own hive, and gave the 

 queenless colony a few the most bees, 

 and plenty of eggs to rear a queen from, 

 I left the hives in this position a few 

 days, then turned the backs a little from 

 each other, so as to make them front in 

 nearer the same direction. In a few 

 days I did the same thing again, and so 

 on until they were fronting the same. 



Now, I had 2 colonies side by side, 

 both working as if they never had been 

 divided. Of course they were both weak, 

 but the queenless colony built five 

 queen-cells, and instead of hatching one 

 queen and tearing down the other cells, 

 as I expected, she swarmed with a vir- 

 gin queen, but some returned to the old 

 hive. I went and cut out, as I thought, 

 all the cells that were left, but over- 

 looked one, and the next day they 

 swarmed again. I would have put them 

 back, but thought they were determined 

 to swarm anyhow, and may be would 

 run away the next time, and being from 

 one of my finest queens, I did not care 

 if they run for increase, and not much 

 for honey. 



So I hived them on one frame of honey 

 and one of brood. This little swarm 

 filled ten frames 13%x9 inches, and 

 stored about 100 pounds of surplus 

 honey, which was the most I got from 

 any one of my colonies. The one this 

 swarmed from (which was the queenless 

 one after dividing) built up the same as 

 the other one, and stored about 80 

 pounds of surplus honey. 



Now, I come to the colony with 

 the old queen, thas filled her hive, 

 threw off a fine swarm, and stored about 

 80 pounds, and I took about 40 pounds 

 from her swarm. 



Now I have 4 colonies, all of which 

 have plenty of stores for winter, and I 

 took 300 pounds of first-class honey, 

 which I sold for a good price, that is, as 

 much as I wanted to sell. 



These queens that I spoke of were the 

 first ones I ever saw shipped through the 

 mails, or introduced in new colonies, 

 and I never saw a colony divided before 

 I divided mine, and never have seen one 

 divided since. If some one can give a 

 better plan to divide, it will be kindly 

 accepted. I will give it a test next 

 spring, and satisfy myself as to which 

 is the best here in Texas — dividing or 

 natural swarming. 



Ennis, Texas. 



