912 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



(ML (T/h9 



ing is carried on, and it may be that you 

 have a great deal better way, or it may be 

 that you used slate tablets long before 

 we did, and have abandoned them for some- 

 thing better. 



For writing the record on the slates, we 

 use a kind of short long-hand, whereby we 

 stenographically, so to speak, take down on 

 the little slates. By so doing we not only 

 save space but imie. It is all-important, 

 that, when the hive has been examined, not 

 a minute be wasted unnecessarily. While 

 at school I acquired llie art of taking down 

 lecture-notes in short-hand characters ; and 

 when at home in the apiary I recorded on 

 the slates the condition of the colony, in 

 crooked marks. When I visited Mr. W. Z. 

 Hutchinson a few years ago, if I remember 

 rightly he informed me that be used short- 

 hand to make his hive-records. But as my 

 stenographic marks were intelligible to no 

 one but myself, I had to abandon them, as 

 none of my co-workers could tell what I had 

 done with the hive. The tablet and the 

 record, when completed for one qneen, is 

 something like this ; 



For the benefit of 

 some of our new 

 readers, I will re- 

 mark that the actual 

 size of the slate is 21 



X If inches — about ^^^^^^^^^^^^_- 

 large enough to con- ^B^^9^^BSI!^S9i 

 tain on one side the whole record of the 

 queen. You observe that a hole is punched 

 near one end, so that the tablet may be 

 hung on one side of the hive. Those who 

 have had our price list will rememer having 

 seen it illustrated. 



I shall now explain more at length just 

 how we use it in queen-rearing. I will tirst 

 ask you to read the tablet as given above, as 

 far as you can. You say it is not very in- 

 telligible. You notice the words, " Cell, 

 «— l!i." This means, that on June 19th a 

 cell from one of our best imported queens 

 was slipped down between the frames, the 

 latter being drawn together gently, so as to 

 hold the cell suspended. In the next line 

 you see, " Ht.— 22." This, amplified, means 

 that, on the 22d of June, when the hive was 

 examined it was discovered that the queen 

 was hatched, and that she was all right. 

 You next find, "Laying, 7 — 2." On that 

 date she probably commenced to lay eggs. 

 She may have been laying before that. If 

 so, we may find larvae just hatched. We 

 then date the slate three days before the 

 examination was made. If the larvff are old- 

 er, the slate is dated accordingly. The 

 reason of this is, that we may know just 

 exactly when to expect young-hatching 

 bees ; to wit, 21 days after. Three weeks, 

 however, is not sufficient time to test the 

 queen. Accordingly, we allow from a 

 month to six weeks to learn of the purity 

 of the progeny. 



Lower down on the slate you notice, 

 *' Tested, 8— 15.'' At this time the queen is 

 pronounced pure. Over the whole you 

 notice a large figure fl. This indicates, that 

 on the yth day of September the queen was 

 sold. When the queen is taken out, the 

 hive closed, and the large figure 9 inscribed 



on the slate, the latter is laid on the hive. 

 The slate on top is conspicuous, and indi- 

 cates that the hive is queenless, and that it 

 must not remain in that condition over a 

 day, or three days at the utmost. For in- 

 stance, we will suppose that we have filled 

 twelve orders from the apiary, each taking 

 a queen. A bird's-eye view reveals the 

 slates, shows just where all those colonies 

 now queenless are, and what kind of a 

 queen they had originally. 



But, to return. You may perhaps in- 

 quire why we omit the woid " sold." It is 

 understood from the size of the date. Why 

 the date enlarged V Because it is impor- 

 tant. If the colony should fail to raise a 

 queen from the cell given, it is essential to 

 know just how long said colony has been 

 queenless. Another thing : The large fig- 

 ure can be seen quite a little distance when 

 on top. Circumstances may be such that 

 there are a limited number of cells on hand 

 — not enough to supply all the colonies from 

 which queens have been taken for two or 

 three days. What cells we do have should 

 be given to the colonies that have been 

 queenless the longest, and the lai'ge date 

 stands out so conspicuous that it is not nec- 

 essary to strain or squint the eyes, as the 

 slates on the cover are examined one by 

 one. 



Let us next examine the scribbling on an- 

 other tablet. In passing through the apiary 

 with a basket containing my cells which I 

 am to insert into those colonies which have 

 slates on the hives, I commence to insert 

 them as I have just described. Having closed 

 the hive, I mark the slate " Cell 18," thus : 

 When the figure is 

 given alone, the 

 month in which the 

 operation was per- 

 formed is under- 

 stood. On the 15th I 

 go through all the 

 hives where I put in 

 cells, to see if any of tliem have been torn 

 down. Examination in one colony shows 

 that the cell has been gnawed into, and its 

 general appearance satisfies me that the 

 queen did not hatch, and so I mark, " Torn 

 down, 15." It may be possible that I do 

 not have a cell with me. If so, I lay tlie 

 slate on top of the hive, for the colony, to 

 all intents and purposes, is still queenless, 

 because it is not in condition to supply 

 itself with a queen from imported stock. On 

 the same day, the 15th, toward night, we 

 will say, I return to insert a cell, and mark 

 as before, '' Cell 15.'' On the 16th the cell is 

 again torn down. Rather than fuss with 

 them any more, I take away all the unsealed 

 brood they may have, if any. and give them 

 a frame of young larvae from a select im- 

 ported queen, and make them raise cells for 

 themselves. Nine days from the time the 

 brood was given them, or on the 25th of the 

 same month, I am to go with a queen-cell 

 knife and cut out the cells, leaving one in 

 the hive to hatch. The others are to be 

 distributed in the manner I have indicated, 

 " Cells, 20,'' shows that on that date I found 

 that the unruly colony was progressing all 

 right, 



cat . /s- 



