26i 



T'H® MBt^Rie-arH mWM J0''PK1*-MI^. 



The only other point on which any 

 question can be raised, as to the per- 

 fect working of these escapes, is 

 whether they will sufficiently draw the 

 bees down to the main hive, or under 

 super. We experimented last season 

 with small cones placed in one-inch 

 holes, and found no trouble. Our 

 standard escape has as great capacity 

 for allowing bees to pass tlirough as 

 the old style Reese escape, and as it is 

 provided with wing guides, we are 

 certain that there will be no difficulty 

 on this point. 



Of course, the horizontal escape can 

 be made in many forms, and as a 

 curiosity I send to the Bee Journal 

 office my latest design ; I do not think 

 that this is any improvement on my 

 No. 4 outlet escape, as I doubt if it 

 can be much improved, only we want 

 it in the Museum of the American Bee 

 Journal, as some of these days some 

 one will be claiming it as a spang new 

 invention. 



I am glad to see this matter thor- 

 oughly discussed, many designs being 

 brought out, and bee-keepers will cer- 

 tainly be greatly benefited. 



Milan, Ills. 



[Mr. Dibbern's latest design of bee- 

 escape is received, and has been placed 

 in our Museum, with the date printed 

 on it. — Ed.] 



^♦■^ 



SHIPPING-CRATES. 



The Size of Crates for Sliippiiig; 

 Comb Honey. 



Written for tJic American Dee Journal 



BY DR. C. C. MILLER. 



It is a dangerous thing to run 

 athwart any opinion with C. F. Muth's 

 name attached — not on account of the 

 belligerent character of the man, but 

 because he has had a wide experience, 

 and is not likelj' to advance any opin- 

 ion that he cannot well substantiate. 

 Nevertheless, some tlungs may be said 

 in reply to what is said about shipping- 

 crates on page 214. 



It is not certain that just what is 

 best for the Cincinnati market, is best 

 for all markets. Mr. Muth has suc- 

 ceeded in popularizing granulated ex- 

 tracted honej' in his market, so that it 

 is preferred, if I mistake not ; while it 

 is well known that in some other mar- 

 kets granulation hinders sales. If in 

 any market a large part of the honey 

 is sold to private families by the crate, 

 then a 12-pound crate is better than 

 anything larger, and in some places I 

 suspect that a 6-pound crate would be 

 still more salable. But in some mar- 

 kets, the amount of honey sold to 

 families direct by the crate, is scarce!}' 



worth considering, and so the markets 

 may differ. 



I first shipped honey in 30-pound 

 crates, double-tier, and I believe that 

 I never used anything larger. Then I 

 came down to the double-tier 24-pound 

 crate, and I thought it an improve- 

 ment. Later still, I adopted the 12- 

 pound crate, and was surprised to find 

 that my commission man was not en- 

 thusiastic at the change. He said that 

 the retail grocer, in many cases, was 

 inclined to buy a little at a time, and, 

 when out of hone}', he would buj' but 

 a single crate. If the crates held only 

 12 pounds, instead of 24, it was double 

 the trouble to keep such a customer 

 supplied throughout the season, and, 

 moreover, he would hardly sell as 

 much honey, because ofteuer allowing 

 himself to get out of stock. He said, 

 " It's just as easy to sell 24 pounds to 

 a grocer as 12." 



While I think of it, I will mention 

 an incident that Mr. Muth might have 

 used to help his cause : I once shipped 

 him a lot of honey in double-tier crates. 

 In transferring from one car to another 

 the railroad hands placed tlie crates in 

 the car glass side down ! Possibly they 

 thought that when so placed, there 

 would be no danger of any one step- 

 ping on the glass and breaking it. 

 The condition of the honey may be 

 imagined. It was no little to Mr. 

 Muth's credit that he saved me from 

 heavy lo.ss by it. But if the honey had 

 been in single-tier crates, their shape 

 would probably have saved them from 

 such blundering placing. 



' ' A heavy crate is invariably set 

 down heavy." Yes, but does Mr. Mutli 

 not know that railroad hands do not 

 handle 12-pound crates singly ? That 

 has been the general rule when I have 

 seen them handling honey, and if two 

 12-pound crates are taken at a time, 

 will they not be set down just as 

 heavily as one 24-pound crate ? The 

 lighter the crates, the better for hand- 

 ling, so long as they are not so light 

 that two will be taken at a time. 



Mr. Muth saj'S : "By far the most 

 practical, the safest in transit, the most 

 salable, and the cheapest of all ship- 

 ping-crates, are those containing 12 

 one-pound sections." 



Why " safest in transit ?" Because 

 if one section is placed on another, its 

 weiglit endangers the section below. 

 Well, but I do not have one section 

 resting on anotlier, although I use 

 double-tier, 24-pound crates — each tier 

 contains 12 sections, two wooden par- 

 titions of J-inch stuff dividing the 

 lower tier into three apartments, and 

 on these two partitions rests a middle 

 or false bottom of }-inch stuff' to sup- 

 port the upper tier, which is again 

 divided into three parts. Thus I liave 

 practically four sections in a box, 



making my crates just as safe in tran- 

 sit as the 12-pound crates. 



But why " cheapest ?" I have never 

 known two 12-pound crates to be 

 bought for as little money as a 24- 

 pound crate. 



As to " the most salable," I have 

 already spoken. It depends somewhat 

 upon the market, and I may mention 

 one particular in which the double- 

 tier crates have the advantage in any 

 market. Suppose the double-tier to 

 have — as I think they should have — 

 two pieces of glass of just the same 

 size as those used in the single-tier 

 crates, there being a middle bar be- 

 tween the two pieces of glass. Now 

 pile up side by side a pile of 12-pound 

 single-tier crates, and a pile of double- 

 tier 24-pound crates, and the 12-pound 

 ci'ates will have from 30 to 40 per cent, 

 more wood in sight than the other. 

 The more glass, the more honey in 

 sight, and the more salable. Twelve- 

 pound crates may be best for Cincin- 

 nati, Ijut I think not for all markets. 



Marengo, Ills. 



WINTERING BEES. 



Little Known About tiie Causes 

 of Loss in Winter. 



Written tor the Amerir/m Bee Journal 

 BY A. C. TYRREL. 



After many years of experiment and 

 observation, I have come to the con- 

 clusion (though somewhat reluctantly, 

 it must be confessed) that as yet we 

 know little or nothing about the causes 

 that so often deplete entire colonies of 

 bees, those suffering the most, nine 

 times in ten, in my apiary, being those 

 going into winter quarters with tlie 

 largest amount of stores, largest num- 

 ber of bees, and, apparently, in tlie 

 most healthy condition. 



Many causes have been advanced to 

 account for severe winter losses, 

 among others being the pollen and 

 honey-dew theories. Last season in 

 this locality, honey-dew was plentiful 

 — in fact, nearly all the box-elder trees 

 fairl}' glistened with a thick sweet sub- 

 stance for a long time, the bees liter- 

 ally covering the trees while it lasted, 

 but strange (?) to saj', mj' bees never 

 wintered better. Every colony at this 

 writing is alive, and has remained in 

 a passive condition since Nov. 17. It 

 is impossible to find two quarts of dead 

 bees in 32 colonies. 



The weather has been changeable at 

 times, many days the thermometer in- 

 dicating {iO'3 below zero; at other 

 times, as many degrees above. 



In preparing the bees for winter, 

 last fall, I did not deviate to any ex- 

 tent from former plans, simply placing 

 two or three thicknesses of burlap over 



