THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



145 



points in an easterly or westerly direc- 

 tion this projection will be with the grain 

 of the wood, etc., See edgewise view 

 of needle at the top of the hive in the 

 illustration— made extra large in order to 

 show these projections that prevent the 

 needle from moving, (x.) All reference 

 letters enclosed in perenthesis will be 

 found in the illustration. 



For keeping the queen's age, cut two 

 strips }i of an inch wide and one inch 

 long, lengthwise, one on each side of the 

 wide end of needle, turning one strip 

 back (a — note angle of turn.) If the 

 queen mated in an odd year — '07, '09, 

 etc. — or if in the even years — "08, '10, 

 etc. — turn both strips; thus keeping track 

 of the queen's age for two years. For 

 her quality, if she is an ordinary one, 

 leave the wide end of needle-the part 

 that is between the two "age strips"— in 

 its original positition; if fair, turn one 

 corner back (b;) good, turn both corners; 

 and if extra good, turn all the wide end 

 at right angles (c.) In moving a queen 

 from one hive to another it is not neces- 

 sary to remove the needle. Simply 

 change the age and quality records of 

 one to correspond with the other. 



In addition to the above records, 1 

 will outline a system for keeping a colony 

 record, in order to show the possibilities 

 of this simple and inexpensive device. 

 Supposing the needle is properly made, 

 tacked in the centre of the front end of 

 hive and it is the first examination in 

 early spring. We find the queen, or, 

 rather, evidence of her presence, plenty 

 of stores, etc., in other words, normal 

 condition, we will turn the needle north 

 (n), being sure to press the 1-8 of an 

 inch turned point of needle into the hive 

 end, not only now but each time the 

 needle is moved, so it will stay put. If 

 the hive has hand-holds channeled out, 

 this point can not be pressed into the 

 hive when the needle is north. However, 

 the needle will stay in that position (n) 

 as it is placed perpendicularly, with 

 heavy end down. On the other hand. 

 suppose the colony is queenless. the age 



and quality records should be turned to 

 their original position, /. e., not turned 

 back, as a sign of queenlessness. As an 

 additional sign the needle should be 

 turned to one of the cardinal points, so 

 as to be seen at a distance — say south 

 (s.) If the colony rears its own queen, 

 or if it was the swarming season, then 

 northeast (n e), east (e) and southeast 

 (s e) could mean queen cells, hatched 

 larva, and sealed queen cells, respectively. 

 Northwest (n w) west (w) and south- 

 west (s w) could mean starving, gave 

 one frame of brood, two frames, etc., or, 

 if it were the surplus season, one super, 

 two supers, etc., as the case may be, 

 respectively. Using only the above 

 mentioned points of the compass, records 

 eight conditions, besides the age and 

 quality of the queen. However, by 

 using the points northeast by north 

 (n e n), northwest by north, southeast 

 by south and southwest by south, twelve 

 conditions can be recorded. On Dadant's 

 hive, or those of similar depth, the points 

 northeast by east, southeast by east, 

 northwest by west and southwest by 

 west could be used, making sixteen 

 records for such hives. Such is not the 

 case with L. hives, because the depth is 

 not sufficient to prevent records made 

 with these points from being confused 

 with others. Yet, if twelve records are 

 not enough for L. hives, two compasses 

 could be used, as they are cheap. One 

 on the right of entrance for queen, the 

 other at the left for colony, making 

 twenty-four records. 



While it takes considerable space to 

 outline a system, remember all the above 

 records can be made or changad from 

 one to the other in one to three seconds. 



From the fact that comb or extracted 

 is produced exclusively in some apiaries, 

 while in others both, apd the great 

 variation in the honey flows, to say 

 nothing of the multiplicity of ways for 

 managing bees, each one will have to 

 work out a system best adapted for his 

 conditions and management. 



On The Mississippi, Dec. 10, 1909. 



