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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



designs. During all this time I have closely 

 studied the action of the bees, when escapes 

 were in use, with a view to making escapes that 

 would work more rapidly and more certainly: 

 and I now feel certain that I have such an es- 

 cape. I long since discovered that Mr. Porter's 

 claim, that one of their little single-entrance 

 escapes, being as rapid as if two or more were 

 used, is a mistake. I have used four of the 

 Porter escapes, as well as from four to six of 

 some of my own patterns, and found quite a 

 difference in the length of time required to 

 empty a super. Then it always struck me as 

 being just a little cruel to take a super full of 

 honey, and crowded with bees, and cut off all 

 chance for air except what little can come 

 through a single Porter escape. I have several 

 times done this in hot weather, when the bees 

 would soon appear running from the hive-en- 

 trances, black as ants. 



In experimenting with escapes one would 

 think that It would be easy to determine which 

 is most rapid; but that is not the Case. There 

 is so much difference in the condition of bees, 

 or their disposition to leave, the time of day, 

 or the weather, that one must not jump at con- 

 clusions. I think Mr. Reddish will be disap- 

 pointed if he expects his escape to work 24 

 times as rapidly as the single-entrance escape. 

 Indeed, I have found the number of entrances 

 or exits to escapes to secure the most rapid 

 emptying of supers to be quite limited. 

 When too many openings are made, bees seem 

 to lose their desire to leave at all; and that 

 was the trouble when I tried wire cloth for di- 

 visions and escapes. 



One way to hasten the disposition of bees to 

 leave the super is to raise the top boards over 

 supers slightly, and blow smoke under it, and 

 wait, say, half a minute, then slip the escape- 

 board under. The first puff of smoke will send 

 many bees down Into the hive; but if you wait 

 too long many more will return, and they will, 

 perhaps, be slower to leave again. If a little 

 smoke is thus used I nave cleared the bees from 

 a dozen or more cases, at my out-apiary, in less 

 than three hours, and been of! for home by us- 

 ing the escape I will now describe. 



I simply use two covers for supers, which are 

 made of ^g'-in. boards with a % bee-space on 

 the upper side. In the upper board I simply 

 bore six %-in. holes an inch or two from one 

 end. In the lower board I bored six similar 

 holes in the opposite end for exits. Now in the 

 ^g'-in. bee-space that will be between boards I 

 make three series of obstructions with openings 

 all pointing to the exit-holes, such as we have 

 long been used to for window bee-escapes. I use 

 perforated tin to make this fence-like partition. 

 1 find that the distance has a good deal to do 

 with bees finding their way back. It should 

 not be less than 10 or 13 inches from the en- 

 trance-holes to the exits. The boards can be 



kept permanently for bee-escapes, or they can be 

 used for super-covers by simply laying a piece 

 of tin over the holes. I do not claim' that this 

 escape will work six times as rapidly as the 

 Porter, but I believe it will work twice as fast; 

 besides it affords all the ventilation the strong- 

 est colony of bees will ever require. 



As most of us tip our hives forward I think 

 something is gained by placing the escape so 

 the entrance-holes will be on the lower side, 

 over hive-entrance. Then the bees have to run 

 up hill in passing tlieescapes,which seems to be 

 the more natural way for them in their leaving 

 the super. It will work just as well where 

 whole hives are used for extracting, providing 

 queen-excluders are used. 



I want to say, in regard to the Jardine es- 

 cape, that his gates will surely become stuck 

 up with propolis in a short time in actual use. 

 I have a pattern almost like it that I used 

 some three or four years ago, but have long 

 since discarded; and my trap-doors, being made 

 of fine tinned wire, were not nearly so apt to be- 

 come gummed as the Jardine, which I suppose 

 is tin. 



I want to say that, in my escape, now de- 

 scribed, I use no traps or springs of any kind. 

 The passages are just plain openings, about ^ 

 in. wide, so that a drone can easily pass through 

 it. If you will watch a bee in passing the Per- 



