'HE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



25a 



at auy time during tlio yoiir no matter 

 whether it be Jan. or Oct., the membership 

 expires with the year, su that one gets a 

 year's protection, when the other gets but a 

 few months for the same amount of money 

 tlie tirst pays. I know there are objections 

 to this metiiod but I believe it cannot be 

 said that it is not right. 



Now Mr. Editor, don't editorially ' knock 

 me into smithereens," for it is possible I 

 may meet you on Canadian soil, and person- 

 ally call you to account if you do. 



Toledo, Ohio. Aug., 20, 18%. 



I My old friend, I will heed your request, 

 as an editorial reply would be largely a 

 repetition in another form of what I have 

 already said. The gist of the whole matter, 

 as I look at it, is that we are now supporting 

 two apicultural societies of a national char- 

 acter, while only one is needed. Better take 

 what is best in both and uuite it into one 

 society; and I most heartily agree that im- 

 porta^it changes and the election of otiicers 

 would better be done by a vote from all of 

 the members instead of simply by the few 

 tliat are in attendance at the yearly con- 

 vention. There are many points to be con- 

 sidered. Let us make haste slowly. — Ed. ] 



Numbering Hives, and Dispensing wi«h 

 Honey Boards, 



C. C. MILLEK. 





N page 235 you 

 ask, Mr. Editor, 

 ^^^Q^ why weshouldnum- 



»^ \ ber our hives, and 



* --• W clearly indicate that 



you think it miF- 

 d i r ected energy. 

 After reading the 

 Review, I said to 

 my assistant while 

 at work, "Mr. 

 Hutchinson doesn't 

 believe in number- 

 ing hives. " She 

 looked up and innocently asked. " What 

 does he do ? Name 'em?" Taking the hint 

 from her, I might answer, " We number our 

 hives because it is simpler aud easier than 

 any other way of naming them. " Then you 

 will ask, "Why should we name them? " I 

 answer by asking, " Why should we name 

 our ciiildrenV " We give them names, for 



one thing, so that we may call to each one 

 when we wish, and that's a reason that 

 doesn't apply to giving names to bees. But 

 do you know of any other reason for giving 

 names to children or to grown people that 

 doesn't with more or less force apply to giv- 

 ing names to colonies of bees? 



I'm not insisting that you should give 

 names or numbers to your bees, but I am 

 insisting that it is a necessity for me. 

 Sometimes I want to talk about them, and 

 when I want to talk about a particular col- 

 ony, it's easier to designate it as No. 4 than 

 to speak of it as the hive that stands under 

 the west side of the apple tree that has the 

 crooked body. Don't you ever want to talk 

 about particular colonies? 



Do you ever want to remember anything 

 about a particular colony? I do, constantly. 

 So many times that I can't trust to memory 

 alone, but must take written memoranda. 

 How can I do that unless I have some sort 

 of name for each colony? And of course a 

 number is only a name. 



After trying the plan of keeping a little 

 history of each colony a year or two you 

 abandoned it as a waste of time. I've been 

 trying it for 25 years, and I'm snre it has 

 saved me a great deal of time, not running 

 as an experimental apiftry but as " the or- 

 dinary apiary run for honey." 

 I . I want to know the ages of my queens. 

 I might keep track of that by the manner in 

 which the wings are clipped, but generally I 

 want to know without looking into the hive. 

 If I keep box hives, and let the bees swarm 

 at their own sweet will, then I could get 

 along without numbers. But it seems to me 

 that movable frames presuppose moving 

 the frames, and if the frames are to be 

 handled I suppose all are not alike to be • 

 handled at the same time and in the same 

 way, but the handling depends on some- 

 thing previous that must be remembered or 

 written down, and \wlien you remember or 

 write yon need a name or a number. 



By having a book of record, I can by look- 

 ing over it plan my work ahead, and this I 

 often do on the way to an out-apiary, thus 

 saving time that would otherwise be occu- 

 pied after my arrival. So important is this 

 book, that if I should forget it I should 

 sometimes feel almost compelled to go back 

 home and get it before commencing the 

 days work. 



We owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Heddon 

 for inventing the slat honey-board, because 



