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JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



Fol. 8 



giving some stud}^ to the matter the following sj^stem was devised, 

 and has been in use ever since. Though perhaps not perfect, it is both 

 simple and flexible, and has been found satisfactor3\ 



The permanent office records are kept on ruled 5x8 inch cards. 

 Each line holds the records of a 3^ear, and each card will answer for 

 about fifteen years. 



At the top of the card is typewritten the name and address of the 

 beekeeper, care being taken to give accurately the name of the town 

 and the mail address, which are often different near town boundaries 

 and especially on rural free delivery routes. 



The card is then cross-ruled and divided into twelve vertical col- 

 umns with printed headings as follows: Date of Inspecton; Number 

 of Colonies; Diseased with Foul Brood — Am^erican, European; Treat- 

 ment Given; General Condition of Apiary; Date of 2nd Inspection; 

 Condition at Tim.e of 2nd Inspection; Experience in Beekeeping; 

 Quarantine — -Placed, Lifted; Name of Inspector. 



These permanent records cards are filled out by the clerk in the 

 office from the inspector's reports which are generally sent in once a 

 week or perhaps twice a m.onth. The inspector's report blanks con- 

 tain: Name of Beekeeper; Town address; P. 0. Address; Number of 

 Colonies in Apiary; Number with Foul Brood (American or European) ; 

 Other Troubles; Owner's Experience; Treatment Given; Date of In- 

 spection; Date Quarantined; Date Released; Certificate Granted; and 

 Name of Inspector. These are made up in booklets each containing 

 50 solid white pages for the originals, and alternating with them are 

 50 yellow sheets for the carbon copies. The yellow sheets are per- 

 forated and are torn out and sent to the office and the data copied 

 upon the permanent record cards. 



The record cards are punched for the round center rod, and are 

 made out in duplicate, one set being arranged by toT^ms and the other 

 alphabetically. 



For convenience in readily looking over the work of the season 

 during its progress, each card in the town index on receiving a new 

 record is marked at the top by one of Smith's steel signals. If the 

 apiary was not found diseased a light blue signal is used. If foul brood 

 of either kind is found in an apiary the card is marked with a light 

 red signal. These signals show at a glance, the total number of in- 

 spections recorded for the 3^ear, the number in each town and the ratio 

 between healthy and cUseased apiaries. Before beginning the next 

 season's work or after the year's report has been prepared, these sig- 

 nals are removed. Their legitimate use will often save much time, 

 especially where it is otherwise necessary to examine ever}^ card in the 

 index to acquire the needed information. 



