850 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Dec. 1. 



served for the peimaneiit I'ecord of the season; 

 as, wlieii siiper w'us i)iit on. \\hen emptied, etc., 

 which gives nie at the end of the season a com- 

 plete I'ecord of tlie doings of eacli colony, to be 

 entered, if desired, in the record -book, which 

 will enable me next year to decide which queens 

 to breed from, which colonies must be requeen- 

 ed. etc. On the side of tiie slate facing outward 

 1 simply write in large figures the date when 

 last I opened the hive; and the stone or ston(>s 

 on the cover tell me of the last work done, or 

 the progress or condition of the colony when 

 last examined. 



This system would be perfectly satisfactory 

 if only the constant change of date in writing 

 could be avoided. The permanent record must, 

 of course, be written, and for this reason I 

 would contiiuie the use of slates, though in a 

 more limited degree. But the ordinary work 

 with or examination of hive or super caii be re- 

 corded by the position of the stones, of which 

 each bee-keeper can form a code of his own, 

 while the date could be changed without the 

 necessity of writing, by using a date-card. I 

 have thought of using your queen-registering 

 cards for this purpose; but the trouble is, that 

 the date figures are so siuall that one has to 

 stoop low to read them. I would have the fig- 

 ures so large and plain that the bee-keeper can 

 read them without difficulty, as he walks along 

 in the rear of the hives; larger, if possible, than 

 those on the sample card. As the seasons vary 

 In different parts of the world, the abbi-eviated 

 names of all twelve months should be printed 

 in the other circle. The date-card should be 

 about the size of an ordinary postal card, and 

 should contain only the two circles for the 

 months and dates, and a place for the number 

 of the hive — nothing else. I presume that pins 

 can be obtained, long enough for tlie larger cir- 

 cle. Black pins would be best; hairpins cut in 

 two might answer the purpose. 



Where one has a large number of colonies to 

 go over in a day it is quite an item to be able to 

 avoid much writing, particularly when the 

 hands are soiled with honey or propolis. 



I think these cards will prove a boon to the 

 bee-keeping fraternity, if you will get them up 

 and keep them in stock, at, say, a cent each, 7.5 

 cents per hiuidred, .fS.OO per 1000, or whatever 

 you can make them for. I myself would use 

 1.50 or 300 each season. If you think favorably 

 of it, please get them ready for next season's 

 use. 



In regard to the position of the stones. I will 

 give my present system as used, while the 

 supers are on the hives, viz.: 



1, emptied first time. 



2, emptied second time. 

 .3, emptied third time. 

 1 (2 stones), emptied fourth time, 



etc. 



4, doing nothing. 



5, sections not yet capped. 



Kear. g^ ready to come off in about a 



week. 



7, ready to come off in a few days. 



8, super put on (see date). 



9, look at the slate. 



This may be varied to suit each individual, 

 and the same marks may have other meanings 

 when no super is on the hive. To me the sys- 

 tem has been of great benefit, as I could read at 

 a distance the record of each hive, and it would 

 have been perfectly satisfactory, if I could have 

 had the use of the date-cards. 



I have used the stones for several years, and 

 am aware that others are using them also; but 

 the date-cards ai-e a new idea of my own. and I 

 hope ere long to see them in general use. 



Wm. Muth-Rassmussen. 



Independence, Cal., Aug. 4. 



Friend M., I am glad to see yon developing 

 our old queen-cards that I was so enthusiastic 

 over when they first came out. Since you sug- 

 gest it, we can easily print these cards the size 

 of a postal card, and we can also print the num- 

 bei-s on from 1 up. Black pins can be had at 

 the millinery stores. Just ask for mourning- 

 pins, and you will get exactly what you want. 

 Now, before we set up the type to print these, 

 we should like to know how many want them 

 at the price you mention. We can make the 

 numbers large, plain, and black; put them in 

 packets of 100 and print them on waterproof pa- 

 per or cardboard, at the price given, providing 

 100 or more will take a pack of caixls.— Your idea 

 in regard to the stones is very suggestive. It 

 reminds one of that queer science called " mne- 

 monics." 



THE BEE-ESCAPE PREFERRED BY H. L. 

 JEFFREY. 



THE OLD PERPENDICUI.AI! CONE THE BEST. 



I send you a draft of a bee-escape we like 

 best. The sides and ends are 5 inches deep. 

 The ends are 14 thick, and are rabbeted out X 

 deep. The sides ai'e ^4 inch thick. The escape- 

 board is also >^ inch thick, 13 inches wide, 19 

 long. It is to be let down into the end rabbets, 

 leaving it % below the top edge when in place. 

 Make 8 holes in it 2 inches in diameter, and 

 bend the upper edge to 3 inches. Make the 

 cones so that thay will be about 2}4 inches deep 

 when formed with a scant half-inch at the 

 apex. Fasten these from the upper side, then 

 make another set of cones, that will be 3 inches 

 deep, from a squai-e of wire cloth, and have it 

 about an inch larger in diameter than the in- 

 ner cone, and make the egress }4 inch in diam- 

 eter. Nail this on the under side by turning up 

 the corners. If thus made there will be a full 

 inch space below the cones above the top of the 

 frames, and plenty of room for nearly a swarm 

 of bees on the under side of the escape-board. 

 The wire cloth can be cut 5 inches square for 

 the cones. By using the deep rims and 3-inch 

 cones, two or three crates can be placed upon 

 the escape at one time; but if only one crate is 



^^4^?^ 



r-THE FOKM OF ESCAPE USED BY JEFFREY. 



taken from the hive at one time, an escape 

 with a 3}<-inch rim and l}^-inch cones will do. 

 But give me the deep one every time. I h^ive 

 used two sorts, one with the board flush with 

 the top of the rim for crates, with bee-space 

 underside: and for the crates with boxes flush 

 with the bottom, the escape has the top bee- 



