1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



281 



er to a buzz-saw, where he turns out the neatest 

 hives and fixtures to be found. But this is foreign 

 to the subject. I only wanted to emphasize my as- 

 sertion that he is a genius with tools. His name is 

 W. W. Wright, of Forest City, Iowa. 



WRIGHT'S BEE-ESCAPE. 



You will notice that this escape Is very simple, 

 and easily made. It can be made in the honey- 

 board Itself, or in a separate block, and inserted in 

 a square hole cut out for it. The strips of tin 

 around the outside, and the tin buttons, are with 

 the latter object in view. If made in the board they 

 are not needed. His object also in making it in that 

 form wa.s that a sample might be sent by mail 

 cheaply. Eugene Secor. 



Forest City, la., Feb. '^2. 



Our friend Wright's escape will work, 

 without doubt. Whether it would be bet- 

 ter or cheaper than friend Dibbern's, it is 

 hard to say ; but probably not as cheap. 

 Perhaps this season in the apiary will throw 

 a little light on the matter. If any one de- 

 sires to test them they can be procured of 

 Mr. Wright, as above. I will explain to our 

 readers that the device is simply a square 

 block, i in. thick. Four holes are bored at 

 each corner, nearly through, and one in the 

 center clear through. A passageway is cut 

 to each hole (see dotted lines), and through 

 each passageway is inserted a small Reese 

 cone. The upper surface is covered with a 

 piece of tin. The light shading shows the 

 removable block, which is inserted in a 

 square hole of a hive cover, and is held in 



filace by the tin buttons. The bees pass up 

 hrough the central hole, through the cover 

 and out. 



^ I ^ 



BEE-ESCAPES AND BEE-ESCAPES. 



THE VERTICAL VERSUS THE PERPENDICULAR. 



Since the invention of my horizontal cone bee- 

 escape, it was to be expected that many similar de- 

 vices would be brought out, and claimed as original 

 inventions. The crop is now maturing rapidly, and 

 it caa almost be said that the " woods " are literally 

 "full of 'em." Happily this matter is not hamper- 

 ed by any patent rights, and the field is entirely 

 free to all. Nor is it to be deplored that so many 

 different devices are appearing. Bee-keepers want 

 the very best means foi' doing every thing about 

 the apiary in the best and most expeditious manner; 

 and surely in the multitude of discussion or inven- 

 tion is wisdom. 



Bee-escapes, as known at this time, consist of two 

 kinds— the vertical cone, as invented by our friend 

 Reese, of Winchester, Ky., and the horlnontal cone, 

 as invented by myself. The vertical cone, or Reese, 

 was thoroughly tested last season; and although it 

 generally worked fairly well, it was found objection- 

 able on account of strong colonies clustering, and 

 building comb in the vacant space immediately un- 

 der the escape-board. Great hatfuls of bees would 

 also bang from the cones, and In some cases actual- 

 ly build comb inside and around them. Mr. Reese 

 has lately tried to overcome this by removing a 

 section from the empty super under it, and letting 

 the cone drop into the space thus made vacant. 

 When it is considered, however, that it is seldom 

 that we wish to take off a full super and place an 

 empty one directly under it, the whole arrangement 

 becomes bungling and impracticable. No pro- 

 gressive bee-keeper would long remain satisfied 

 with such methods. 



These difiiculties led me to the invention of my 

 horizontal escape. It is plain to see that the objec- 

 tions to the vertical-cone escapes are well nigh in- 

 surmountable; and it is noticeable that all the new 

 escapes are on the horizontal principle. It is true, 

 as stated by Mr. Reese on page 197, that the hori- 

 zontal-cone escapes have not been as thoroughly 

 tested as could be desired. We know positively, 

 however, from our experience with the Reese es- 

 cape and other devices, that bees readily pass 

 through any hole big enough for them to get 

 through when cut off from the rest of the hive by 

 means of a board. Now, bees can pass through my 

 horizontal four-outlet escapes as readily as through 

 the Reese; and the chances for any getting back 

 are very much less. There are no bees so persis- 

 tent as robbing bees; and I have demonstrated con- 

 clusively that robbers can not go through the es- 

 capes when suddenly placed on a hive upside down, 

 when it is being robbed. I believe, too, that bees 

 are much more persistent when carrying honey out 

 of feeders or supers than they would be to re-enter 

 such after escaping from them. I am entirely sat- 

 isfied with my escape, and know it will do all I 

 claim. It is also quite likely, that, like the queen- 

 excluding honey-board, other uses will yet be found 

 for it. 



those double top-bars. 



Oh, yes! I forgot, when writing on this subject 

 before, that I, too, experimented with double top- 

 bars. My main idea was to do away with the slatted 

 honey-board, and, come to think of it. why I did not 

 throw them aside I don't know. I made one hive 

 with a frame having a double top-bar, just as de- 

 scribed by friend Baldridge; also another hive with 

 both double top and bottom bars, and a third hive 

 with double top-bars, on the break-joint principle; 

 that is, the openings were directly over the center 

 of the f brood-combs, and, of course, there was 

 no opening between top-bars. I hived bees in 

 all of these hives in 1888, and no trace of burr-comb 

 has ever appeared in any of them. My frames are 

 only 7 inches deep, outside measure; but I made 

 the one with both top and bottom bars double, 8 

 inches. As I did not like to reduce the comb 'space 

 so much, I placed some six or eight small ;^'-inch 

 pieces between the upper and lower bars, as I con- 

 cluded that would answer the bees for brace-comb. 

 The bees have wintered well in them, and, as stated 

 before, I don't know why I did not adopt them. I 

 thought at first that so many nooks and corners 



