TMI^ MM1ERIC3E]^( BM'S J@WRIf2EI,. 



727 



the winter on the summer stands. This 

 I considered no risk of importance, 

 but I feared to experiment in that way 

 with good colonies. After seeing the 

 advantages of wintering small colonies 

 in the cellar, I put large ones in, and 

 adopted that method. Mr. Moses 

 Quinby also practiced cellar-wintering. 



Our way of doing it was to turn tlie 

 hives (boxes) bottom upward, with the 

 top of the hive resting on something 

 up from the cellar bottom, and a quilt 

 or some cloth covered over the lower 

 end of each hive, to keep the bees from 

 leaving the hive. The small colonies — 

 such as had not tilled their hives with 

 comb, and needed to be fed, I broke 

 off the drj- combs down to, or near, 

 the cluster, and then placed pieces of 

 sealed comb over the cluster, and the 

 bees would move on to the feed. Such 

 is the best practice with bees in box- 

 hives. The cause of loss (often amounts 

 ing to dreadful calamities) during win- 

 winter seasons, should be understood 

 as far as possible. 



Richford, N. Y. 



BEE-ESCAPE. 



The Reese Bce-Eseapc for Oet- 

 ting Bee§ Out of Supers. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY F. GREINER. 



There seems to be some readers of 

 the American Bee Journal who are 

 not familiar with the Reese cone-case 

 bee-escape. For the benefit of those, 

 it might be well to rei)roduce what 

 Mr. Reese says about it in Gleanings 

 for January. 1888 ; 



" The cone-case bee-escape is as fol- 

 lows : Take an emptj- surplus case 

 that any bee-keeper may be using, for 

 illustration the T super. Cut a board 

 that will just tit evenly inside the case; 

 bore two one-inch holes, one near each 

 end ; make two small cones of wire- 

 cloth, just large enough to tack over 

 the one-inch holes, and about IJ inches 

 high. Now make two more larger 

 cones about 3i inches at the base, and 

 3i inches high, and tack over the 

 smaller cones. This will leave a space 

 between the smaller and larger cones ; 

 and each cone has a hole in its apex 

 that will admit a bee. Fasten this 

 board with cones near the bottom or 

 top of the emptj' super, and the cone- 

 case is ready for use. Now raise the 

 filled super, and place between it and 

 the brood-chamber this cone-case, with 

 the cones pointing toward the brood- 

 nest. In a few hours you may expect 

 the full super all clean of bees, and not 

 a cell uncapped." 



The wire-cloth cone — the principle 

 feature of the cone-case — can be used 

 in other ways ; for instance, when tak- 



ing off honey from my chaff hives, I 

 leave the full super with bees in the 

 upper department in such a way as to 

 stop all communication between the 

 bees in the super and the bees in the 

 brood-chamber. Through a J-inch 

 hole in the gable of the cover, and 

 over wliich a cone is placed tempo- 

 rarily, the bees from the full super will 

 all make their exit in a few hours, and 

 even very young bees will readily And 

 their way back into their parent hive, 

 as the escape-hole is perpendicularly 

 in line above the common entrance. 



For convenience, I have a quantity 

 of attachable cones, consisting of a 

 small piece of board 2x3 inches, with 



The Bee-fc Bee-Escape. 



an inch hole bored through, and a 

 cone nailed over it ; this device can 

 easily be fastened with a tack or two, to 

 any part of the hive, and has proved a 

 great help to me in ridding supers of 

 bees. 



The most of my wide-frame supers 

 which I use on single-walled hives, 

 have a J-inch hole bored in one end of 

 them, for common closed by a button ; 

 over this hole I place an attachable 

 cone, when the su])er is tilled ; I raise 

 it and slip a honey-board (or oil-clotli 

 would probably do as well), between 

 the super and the brood-chamber, and 

 in two hours the bees will usually have 

 left. I have not found it necessarj' to 

 use the double cone, still it may be 

 safer to. 



Now I would like to say that if Mr. 

 Heddon practices a better plan than 

 Mr. Reese has given us, I would like to 

 have him prevail upon the inventor of 

 that plan (see page 636) to describe it, 

 and let his light shine. Thousands of 

 l)cc-keepers who are working hard to 

 make an honest living, will thank him 

 for it. As far as I know, Mr. Reese 



has given us the best thing for the pur- 

 pose, and I make the motion to extend 

 to him our unanimous vote of thanks. 

 Who seconds this motion ? 

 Naples, N. Y., Oct. 8, 1889. 



BEE-STINGS. 



Results of Bce-Stinir Poison in 

 the Human System. 



Written fur the American Bee Joumval 



BY C. B. HILLS. 



In reply to Mr. Duncan (page 685), 

 I can say from quite an extensive ex- 

 perience, that I believe there are cases 

 where bee-sting poison does in a 

 greater or less degree cause impure- 

 blood eruptions. 



A few years ago, while handling a 

 frame thickly covered with bees, I got 

 several stings in the end of my thumb ; 

 as quick as I got my hands at liberty 

 I scraped a knife over the end of the 

 thumb — probably broke some stingers 

 off ; but whether it was their working 

 into the flesh, or the poison they had 

 injected, this much I am positive of, 

 that from that hour it commenced to 

 be inflamed, and in four days it was 

 very painful. 



A doctor examined it, pronounced it 

 a felon, and thought tliat it would has- 

 ten it to lance it, which he did ; it only 

 clischargcd a little very dark-colored 

 blood, and closed up, so I had it lanced 

 again. It laid me up for four weeks, 

 and when it did get well, it left the 

 thumb partly useless for life. 



The point that I wish to convey is 

 this : There is no question but that 

 the stings I received in the end of my 

 thumb, were the direct cause of the 

 felon ; now may we not reasonably 

 suspect that the poison injected into 

 one's system, by repeated stings, in a 

 measure — especially with some indi- 

 viduals — cause the afflictions, namely, 

 boils, felons, carbuncles, etc.? 



One thing in ni}- own case : I have 

 noticed that when I have received 

 numerous stings, soon after I would be 

 afflicted to a greater or less degree. 

 If Mr. Duncan will look at Query No. 

 (!34, on page 358. he will see what 

 some of the fraternity have to say on 

 the subject. 



I will say right here, to dispel the 

 idea that some might have from read- 

 ing the answers in that Query, that I 

 do not. nor ever did, use tobacco or 

 strong drink in any form. 



Notwithstanding the minor draw- 

 backs in bee-keeping. I take much 

 pleasure, as well as profit, in bee-cul- 

 ture ; and am indebted to the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal for very valuable 

 instructions in the pursuit. 



WellsviUe, N. Y., Oct, 30, 1889. 



