104 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



some practical good, why continue it ? But 

 instead of saying that it has gone just far 

 enough and must cease, I am going to do as 

 I have done to my profit several times in the 

 past, ask the advice of my readers. Let each 

 who has the prosperity of the Review and 

 of beekeepers at heart write me his views 

 upon this question — not necessarily for pub- 

 lication, but that I may have the advantage 

 of the wisdom that comes from a multitude 

 of counselors. 



EXXRT^OXiBO, 



The "Lightning" Bee Escape. 

 It is a little early in the season to begin to 

 talk about bee escapes, but the time when 

 they will be needed will slip around after 

 awhile, and when it does come it will be 

 well to know where to get the best. In the 

 A. B. J. I find a description of an escape 

 called the " Lightning," manufactured by 

 M. E. Hasting, New York Mills, N. Y. It 

 embodies the Porter, spring principle, but 

 has four exits instead of one, as in the Por- 

 ter, hence the name, I presume. Here is the 

 description as given in the A. B. J. 



" The engraving below is a sectional pic- 

 ture of the ' lightning ' bee escape. 



Fig. 1 shows the escape complete, ready 

 for the board. C is the perforated top, 

 which allows free ventilation from the hive 

 to the supers. A is the top opening which 

 the bees enter upon leaving the supers. 



Fig. 2 shows the escape with the top re- 

 moved. A is an outline of the top entrance. 



B. B, B, B, are the outlets from the escape 

 to the hive. C is an outline of the top plate. 

 D, D are side walls, and E, E are circular 

 end walls. 



The ground plan shows the bees passing 

 out through the four passages toward B, 

 each bee pushing against the spring as it 

 passes out. It is impossible for tliem to re- 

 rurn, there being only space enough for a 

 drone to leave between the ends of E, E and 

 the side walls, D, D ; and the springs hang 



in the center between the above mentioned 

 walls. 



By simply placing a suitable board, with a 

 bee-space top and bottom, having an escape 

 in the center, between the supers and the 

 hive, the escape will do the work that was 

 most dreaded — that of harvesting the sur- 

 plus honey, with neither the taint of smoke 

 nor the capping injured, leaving the honey 

 in perfect condition for market. 



It will clean the supers in from 2 to 4 hours. 

 One super containing 27 one-pound sections 

 was cleared of every bee in 1 hour and 43 

 minutes." 



Sections Folded, the Joints Glued and Pressed 



Together at the rate of 30 a Minute, by 



Simply Turning a Crank. 



I believe the inventive genius of beekeepers 

 equals that of any class of men. A machine 

 has lately been invented by E. W. Philo, of 

 Half Moon, N. Y., which enables the opera- 

 tor to put together sections, at the rate of 30 

 per minute, by simply turning a crank. In 

 Gleanings for April 1st I find the following 

 illustration and description of the machine. 



" For quite a number of years, perhaps 

 ten or more, I have felt the need of a 

 machine for doing more rapid work in 

 putting together sections and gluing their 

 joints. During this time I have made sev- 

 eral devices for accomplishing this work, 

 but have never been fully satisfied with any 

 of them until I had completed and thor- 

 oughly tested the one now placed before 

 you in the accompanying engraving. 



Although I have made two other machines 

 that would do the work, they were too ex- 

 pensive to come into general use. My aim 

 during the past year has been to produce a 

 machine that would perform the whole oper- 

 ation, without any hand work except filling 



