1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



893 



or, if nailed or tacked on ihey must be pried off 

 and nailed to another hive whenever it is 

 necessary to change a hive from one stand to 

 another: and we all know that such changes 

 are frequently necessary, especially in swarm- 

 ing-time. 



In that editorial you say, "But suppose he 

 hired help, and he should direct his man, not 

 very familiar with the arrangement, to 16-9."" I 

 will tell you how I would direct that man. If I 

 wished him to get the queen from G.5, and he 

 had never seen the apiary, I would say, " Go to 

 the apiary. Go in at the south door of the 

 honey-house. When you get in, turn to the 

 right, and look at the plan of the apiary tacked 

 to the wall just beside the door. After looking 

 at it a minute or two. if you can not locate .Go 

 come and tell me and then go home. 



What I claim for my method is that one let- 

 ter and one figure indicate the number, there 

 being no number higher than 5. Some may 

 argue that having the same numbers so often 

 is likely to cause confusion in keeping the 

 records: but I find in actual practice it is not 

 the case. One is not likely to mistake one let- 

 ter for another: and bearing in mind that the 

 southeast hive in each group is 1. and that the 

 numbers go round like the hands of a watch, 

 there is little likelihood of getting the numbers 

 wrong. Let me give a sample record. I have 

 not my book at hand, so will give you a sample 

 from the same place that I carry my hive 

 numbers. 



H3, Mar. 15, strong, plenty of stores: May 28, 

 swarmed: hived swarm here, and removed 

 parent colony to L4: June 20, gave super. 



By referring to the record of L4 we shall see 

 where they came from, and will know that the 

 queen is a daughter of the queen in H3: if all 

 went well, we shall know she was reared by 

 natural swarming; her age, etc. 



Now let that other Miller tell us why he 

 would have his big tin numbers nailed to the 

 hives instead of carrying them in his head. 



Bluflton. Mo.. Nov. 4. 



[We have reproduced the diagram in the A B 

 C, for the convenience of our readers. Well, 

 while I have no doubt that you can get along 

 without the visible .numbers, can't see wha 

 harm their presence on the hive or in the group 

 can do. and it might be a grefit co-ivenience. 

 Why. it would save having a diagram or plot 

 "tacked to the wall just beside the door." 

 Then some chaps whom you might send there 

 might commence numbering from the wrong 

 side or end. 



As to our own practice, we have never num- 

 bered our hives: but we had seriously thought 

 of doing so, because it was inexpensive, and 

 might be an advantage. 



Perhaps it would be well to state that we 

 have been using the Miller plan of grouping 

 hives, in one of our yards, for several seasons. 

 We like the arrangement very much. It econ- 

 omizes space, gives an alley for bees and one 

 for the bee-keeper : and then, too, one hive 

 makes a handy seat for working over its neigh- 

 bor.— Ed.] 



RAMBLE NO. 144. 



A SKETCH OF HARRY E. WILDER. 



By Rambler. 



During the past few months I have made 

 quite free use of the name of my traveling- 

 companion ; and to atone, in a measure, for the 

 jokes I have thrown at him I will in this ram- 

 ble present him to your readers in the charac- 

 ter of a progressive bee-keeper. 



Harry E. Wilder was born about 28 years ago 

 in Peterboro. N. H. His father has for many 

 years been a manufacturer of thermometers: 

 and any reader of this who owns a Wilder ther- 

 mometer has the best and most reliable mercu- 

 ry-tube in existence — at least, Harry so insists. 

 Thousands of thermometers are turned out of 

 the factory, and for all conceivable purposes. 



HARRT E. WILDER. 



Harry lived under the paternal roof, with 

 several other chips from the old 1 l-'ck. male 

 and female, until he arrived at the age ai which 

 all young men look forward with longing. At 

 his majority he started out to experience the 

 ups and downs of life among strangers and un- 

 der new surroundings. 



From early life our friend was an ardent lov- 

 er of the chase, and his gun and hounds were 

 familiar features on the streets of Peterboro. It 

 may be readily surmised that the "hunting" 

 around Peterboro was not of a wide and varied 

 character: and a lover of such sport, when the 

 opportunity came, would naturally seek the 

 wild portions of our far western country, where 

 both large and small game is plentiful. 



In the interests of an eastern publishing com- 

 pany our friend found his waiy to the Pacific 

 coast; and in Washington, Oregon, and Califor- 

 nia, when business cares were not pressing, the 

 highest mountains and deepest canyons have 

 been explored for game and natural wonders. 



