1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



243 



the best results from our apiary, work- 

 ing with the one object in view, that 

 of securing the greatest force of labor- 

 ers just when the honey harvest is on 

 hand, and just as few at all other 

 times as is consistent with accomplish- 

 ing this object. 

 Borodino, N. Y. 



Numbering Hives 



BY W. .1. DAVIS, '2nd. 



A good deal is being said of late, in 

 some of the bee papers, on the subject 

 of numbering hives, and whether such 

 numbers should be movable or station- 

 ary. Where a considerable number 

 of colonies are kept, I think the num- 

 bering of hives is indispensible for 

 the proper raauageraeut of the apiary. 

 I will give my plans which may prove 

 of some benefit to anyone starting in 

 the pursuit of bee-keeping. Some 

 may prefer other plans, but this an- 

 swers ray purpose. All ray hives not 

 used in house apiaries are 1^ stories. 

 That is the h story is a cap high 

 enough to receive and cover a section 

 case. The brood frames are covered 

 with a honey board of f inch stuff. 

 An equal number of hives are painted 

 white and red, and the cap and brood 

 chamber bear the sarae number paint- 

 ed on with black paint, the figures 

 being li inches high put on with 

 stencil plates, being plain enough to 

 be seen some distance. In wintering 

 the caps are left on the summer stands, 

 and the brood chambers only carried 

 to winter quarters and the number of 

 the cap shows where each colony is to 

 be placed when again returned 

 to their summer stands. On the honey 

 board of each hive is placed one or 

 more pieces of white section, on which 

 is kept in pencil all the record I find 



necessary, without the use of an apiary 

 registry book, and this record could 

 not be kept unless the hives were 

 numbered. 



I also find it more convenient to 

 have one color with the even numbers 

 and the other with the odd numbers. 

 Swarms from white hives are usually 

 hived in white hives and swarms from 

 red hives in red hives. If the queen 

 has a clipped wing, and the bees made 

 to hive themselves by returning to 

 the old stands, they enter a hive of 

 the same color more readily. Or if I 

 wish to place the young swarm that 

 has clustered and been hived on the 

 old stand, I prefer the new hive 

 should be the sarae color of the hive 

 removed. In placing hives I usually 

 alternate the colors, as the bees recog- 

 nize color and the hives look better 

 according to ray taste. 



If I have raade the conditions suffi- 

 ciently plain, I will give a sample of 

 the record kept on each hive. Suppose 

 a prime swarm issues from white hive 

 No. 50, June 10, 1895, and they are 

 hived in white hive No. 58. I write 

 on the piece of section Sw. 50, W., June 

 10, 1895, q, (or queen,) 1894. This 

 is placed on the honey board of No. 58 

 W. This will tell me when to look 

 for queen cells in No. 50 white. If a 

 desirable stock to breed from I save 

 as many cells as I require at the time. 



In looking through No. 50 at the 

 proper time I find the young queen 

 hatched. I write on section on No. 

 50, June 25, y. q. h., (that is young 

 queen hatched). In about a week 1 

 look again in No. 50 and find the 

 young queen laying, and I write, q. 

 1895, F., the F. meaning fertilized. 



If the queen is large and yellow to 



