412 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [lL Ocr., 1901. 
DENDROBIUM, Sw. 
D. Andersoniana, Bail. Stem 1} to 2 ft. long, terete at the immediate 
ibase for a few inches, then slightly swelled for 4 or 6 in., compressed, and from 
thence tapering to quite a slender termination; leaves 4 or 5 near the top of 
the stems, oblong-lanceolate, thick and smooth, resembling those of Hoya 
ccarnosa, nodes very close, peduncles on the old leafless stems, often some inches 
down the stems, 6 to 9 in. long, including the 5 or 6 flowered raceme; em 
bracts 4. or 5, obtuse, with a minute point, and closely adhering to the peduncle 
those subtending the flowers more acuminate and loose; pedicels about 1 ai, 
long, slender, greenish-white, abruptly curved at the base of the ovary; ova ‘ 
about 2 lines long; sepals narrow, acuminate, 1 in. long, but so curled as to 
appear much shorter, the lateral ones joined and elongated at the base enclosing 
the sharp rather long spur, all three marked with rather broad lines of minute 
purple dots; petals linear, erect, about 16 lines long, 2 lines broad towards the 
.end, but more or less narrowing towards the base, slightly twisted, the lower 
portion stained purple, the upper end of a greenish-brown; labellum 3-lobed, 
lateral ones cuneate in outline, marked with numerous minute purple dots in 
oblique lines, end lobe lanceolate, undulate, recurved, marked more prominently 
but similar to the other lobes; disk plates white, with a narrow llac-purple 
edge; claw narrow, green, column short, wings rather broad, blunt on the 
top, but each ending with a minute tooth at the back; anther-lid broad, flat 
yellowish, minutely ciliate in front. 4 
Hab.: British New Guinea, W. Anderson. 
Apiculture. 
BEE-KEEPING—HOW TO KEEP RECORDS OF HIVES, Ere. 
By H. R. STEPHENS, Toowoomba. 
The present month of September being one of preparation for the forth- 
coming season, it is necessary to go over all the bees and ascertain the condition 
of each colony before putting the supers on, presuming that most bee-men 
follow the practice of removing them during the winter months. There are 
several ways of keeping a record of hives, but it is very desirable that the 
method should be simple, and give full information in few words. The plan I 
adopt is just to write the state of the colony on the cover of the hive, or 
perhaps on the side if the covers are likely to be changed often. ‘The following 
is a sample of record. I have examined a colony, and find the queen, the eggs, 
.&c. Well, I write on the hive :— 
The words “not cut” mean that the queen’s wings are in that state; 
“super,” of course, means that the “ super” or top story was placed in position, 
.and the other words explain themselves.* 
Other methods of record-keeping are those that are mechanical, and in their 
way, they are very good, but are generally restricted in usefulness by confining 
the information to the normal condition of the colony, such as ‘ laying,” 
“ queenless,” “ cells,” &c., whereas the beekeepers may require to know which 
hive to cut the queen’s way in, or to unite one with another colony on aceount — 
-of weakness. Or, perhaps, he would wish to know which of his colonies were — 
gathering most honey, and to make a memorandum accordingly. I would like 
to repeat here what 1 have intimated in former papers—that anyone examining 
* By an oversight, the diagram to which these terms refer has been omitted. We will, 
‘however, insert it in the next number of the Journal.—Ed. Q.4.J. 
