720 
RECORD-KEEPING OF HIVES 
There is one objection to the record 
book, however. It is liable to get lost, or 
to be left out in the rain; and if the book 
is lost, the whole knowledge of the apiary, 
except so far as the apiarist can remember, 
is gone. Another thing, only one can use 
the book at a time. 
Others prefer card indexes. Each hive 
in the apiary will have a number, and 
corresponding to that number will be a 
card. Boxes of these card indexes can 
usually be obtained at the stationer’s or at 
the bookstores at a moderate price. The 
advantage of such index is that, when some 
particular card for some hive is full, it can 
be replaced by another card bearing the 
same number for additional data. The most 
important advantage is that one can look 
thru his index at home; and when he 
comes across a card, the corresponding hive 
of which requires some particular atten¬ 
tion, he can remove that card entirely from 
the index. In like manner he can remove 
the cards of all other colonies of the yard 
requiring special attention. These cards 
can then be slipped into the hip pockets 
and carried to an outyard or handed to an 
assistant with proper instructions; and 
after the hives have received the requisite 
attention, the necessary record can be at¬ 
tached. On returning home the cards can 
be put back. 
Where there is a series of outyards, one 
should have one index for each yard. As 
there will seldom be more than 200 colonies 
to the yard, one can have an index of 200 
cards. For example, yard No. 1 will have 
cards up to 199; yard No. 2 from 200 to 
399; yard No. 3 from 400 to 599, and so 
on. If any of the cards should get mis¬ 
laid or get mixed with another index, the 
first figure of the number will indicate to 
what yard or index it belongs. 
For the purpose of queen-rearing, the 
card index is invaluable because it enables 
one to keep a complete record of a queen, 
even her pedigree for several generations 
back. When she is sold, the record can be 
made, showing to whom she was sold, so 
that, if the purchaser complains that her 
bees are not pure, or that the colony is 
diseased, the breeder can easily go to the 
identical colony from which she came, and 
prove or disprove either assertion. 
The value of the card index can be ma¬ 
terially increased by the use of colored 
cards to slip into the index here and there 
to indicate immediate or early attention to 
some particular number. As the apiarist 
goes over his records the colored cards will 
indicate just where the cards are, referring 
to a specific colony. Let us suppose a 
case. No. 241 at the time of examination 
looked suspicious. The presence of foul 
brood is feared. A red card is put right in 
front of card 241, for red indicates danger. 
Blue, green, and yellow cards may be used 
to indicate other conditions such as queen- 
lessness, short of stores, failing queen, 
about to swarm, etc. If one is making 
preparations to feed he will hunt over the 
blue cards. Either pull the cards back of 
them out of the index or note down on a 
slip of paper the numbers of the hives that 
require feeding. 
In this connection it should, perhaps, be 
stated that one can purchase at very small 
expense loose-leaf note-books with an al¬ 
phabetical or numerical index. These books 
are so constructed that any particular page 
can be removed and another page substi¬ 
tuted or added, on the principle of loose- 
leaf ledgers. Such books can be used in 
place of a card index. In other words, it 
will be a pocket card index that can be 
carried to and from the yard; and as such 
books are usually bound in leather they 
will stand rough usage. 
Of course, with any books or card index 
it goes without saying that every hive in 
the yard should be numbered. These num¬ 
bers may be put on the hive with a 
brush, using black paint. But it is pref¬ 
erable to use a detachable number. Such 
a number may be stenciled on a sheet of 
tin and the tin tacked on the hive. The 
objection to these is the expense. Fortu¬ 
nately there can now be secured of supply 
dealers, numbers printed on heavy rnanila 
tags that are afterward soaked in boiling 
paraffin so they will stand the weather. 
These numbers can then be tacked on the 
cover, or on one side or end of the hive. 
As a rule it is better to use the front end 
just over the entrance. In the course of 
two or three years it may be necessary to 
replace the old number with a new and 
