AUGUST 1, 1912 



the date, because it was the same year I 

 sold some real estate. 



I do not use any knife now — too slow. 



Providence, R. I. 



[Mr. A. C. Miller was probably the first 

 one to use steam for heating an iineapping- 

 knife; at least we do not find any record of 

 any earlier user. Some ten years after- 

 ward the steam uncapping-knife was used 

 in Euro^De. as is seen in one of the Euro- 

 pean bee journals (Apicoltore for June, 

 1907, page 110, but the principle of heating 

 a knife by steam for meat-chipping pur- 

 l^oses was patented by 0. Gardner, July 8, 

 1873). It was not till two j'ears ago that a 

 steam knife for uncapping was placed on 

 the market in this country. 



It is but fair to say that some like it and 

 some do not. Steam will keep it hot con- 

 tinuously; but the rubber tubing, which is 

 more or less in the way, and the extra 

 weight of the knife, are objections with 

 some. We haxe been testing the steam 

 knife alongside of an ordinary Bingham 

 knife dij^ped in a pan of hot water. Some 

 of our boys i^refer the steam knife, and 

 others prefer to be unfettered by any at- 

 tachment. We have about concluded that 

 the man who starts with a steam knife 

 would not use any other; and one who 

 starts with one of the common kind, heated 

 in a pan of hot water, may or may not 

 want to change over to the steam knife. 

 There are many (and they have worked 

 the old way) who believe that the steam- 

 heated uncapping-knife is miles ahead of 

 any other form of uncapping-device. — Ed.] 



NUMBERING POSITIONS INSTEAD OF HIVES 



Record-Book Method of Numbering Hives 



BY S. E. MILLER 



On page 328, June 1, Dr. Miller is still 

 hammering away on the liive-number ques- 

 tion. I am surprised that he will continue 

 fussing with numbers attached to the hives 

 when there is a better and simpler Avay, and 

 no hive numbers are needed except in the 

 record-book. That one-inch nail driven one- 

 third of its length into the hive, and two- 

 thirds out — why, doctor, if there is a nail 

 sticking out of a hive that I am working 

 about I do not feel well until I get the ham- 

 mer and pull it out. Then why bother with 

 a tag of any kind that has to be changed 

 every time there is a change of some kind, 

 caused by swarming, etc.? 



If Dr. Miller can pick a flaw in my sys- 

 tem of numbering liives, let him fire away. 

 Some years ago my method of arranging 

 colonies in the apiary was illustrated in the 



A B C of Bee Culture. They are arranged 

 in groups of five colonies, and I may here 

 state that I have made a slight change since 

 • — that is, I have no colonies facing north 

 — thus : 



oD 



w 



9 



N 



D 



o 



S 



Do 



E 



n 



o 



The group in the southeast corner of the 

 apiary is A (letter A), and the southeast 

 liive is Al. The next west is A2 ; still west, 

 A3. North of this is A4, and the one at 

 the northeast is A5. B is the next grouj) 

 west of A, and the numbers 1 to 5 are re- 

 peated in each group, the groups being ar- 

 ranged like this: 



etc. K J 



F 



H 



E 



C B A 



Xow, the hives are not numbered; but 

 the spot where each liive stands has an im- 

 aginary number. These numbers are re- 

 corded in the book in alphabetical order, 

 and are indexed for each groui^ by cutting 

 away a part of the page of each fifth set of 

 leaves, similar to the way a dictionary is 

 indexed. 



B2 casts a swarm, and I see it issuing. 

 I open the record at B, which is Bl. I turn 

 one leaf and have the record of B2 before 

 me. At a glance I can see whether the 

 queen is clipped. I see that she is, and pro- 

 ceed to the hive with a cage; find her, and 

 place her in it. While the swarm is in the 

 air I remove the colony and place a hive 

 prepared as I see fit in its place, and lay 

 the cage containing the queen at the en- 

 trance. I have simply set B2 a little out of 

 the way for the present. * 



I now look over the yard and see a va- 

 cancy at G5. Note here that G5 has its 

 proper place of record in the book, and it 

 is also fixed in my mind so that if I should 

 consult the book without being in sight of 

 the apiaiy I see that G5 is marked vacant. 



G5 is some little distance from B2, so 

 that the new colony or swarm is not likely 

 to locate the parent colony; and some of 

 the field bees leaving G5 will likely return 

 from the field to B2, thus further strength- 

 ening the new colony. Now for the rec- 

 ord: 



B2 is practically a new colony, but it is 

 still B2, and will read like this: "June 10, 

 cast swarm; have clipped queen; hived 



