SEPTEMBER 15, 1914 



GENEEAL 



711 



'PONDENCE 



MAMCING AND RECORD = KEEPING 



BY FLORA M'iNTYRE 



[Miss Mclntyre is the young woman who paid part of hei- college expenses by working with the bees. 

 See her article on" page 893, Dec. 15, 1913. — Ed.] 



The hives in the Sespe apiary are set out 

 in rows, each of which is designated by a 

 letter. The A row is at the extreme left of 

 the extracting-house, and B, C, D, etc., fol- 

 low in order until we reach the Q row, or 

 thereabout, at the extreme right. The hive 

 places have each a number, beginning with 

 No. 1 at the upper end of each row, pro- 

 ceeding in order down to 25 or less at the 

 path which skirts the lower side of the 

 apiary and passes the extracting-house door. 

 The hives are grouped in twos within the 

 rows, and two single rows placed back to 

 back form a double row. All work is done 

 from the path within the double row. 



alphabet printed one on each leaf. The 

 record of each single row occupies one dou- 

 ble page, or about 8 x 13 inches. The re- 

 quisite number of columns are ruled off, and 

 the column-headings and hive-numbers writ- 

 ten, with pen and ink. The record itself is 

 kept in pencil, a slender pencil with a good 

 eraser on one end being tied securely to the 

 book. A new book is jDrepared at the be- 

 ginning of each season, and the record is 

 begun when the bees are first inspected in 

 the spring, being added to and modified as 

 the season advances. The pencil and eraser 

 make it easy to alter a record or transfer it 

 to another part of the book in case a hive is 



A corner of the " Sespe " apiary, showing the concrete storehouse in the background. 



The numbers and letters are stenciled in 

 black on white painted stakes about four 

 inches wide and a foot high, driven into the 

 ground at the lower side of the hives and 

 close to the rear corner. The lower hive in 

 each group of two has the number-stake, as 

 shown in the illustration, the number of the 

 intervening hive being easily ascertained by 

 a glance at the stake above. 



The record-book is an ordinary index- 

 book about 4 inches wide and 13 long, with 

 the margins cut to show the letters of the 



moved and its address thus changed On the 

 next page is a possible record of the B row, 

 showing the system used in making records. 

 The numbers under " Age " indicate that 

 the queen is in her first or second year as 

 the case may be. Under "Strain" is usually 

 placed the initial letter of the breeder's 

 name from whom the original ancestor of 

 the queen was secured. " Grade " refers 

 also to the queen — X meaning fair; XX 

 good, and XXX very good in size, color, 

 and such other characteristics as can be 



