THS m^mmmiGmu bse^ jqurihsi,. 



801 



trance of the cage, and the queen is 

 introduced without any fussing or 

 trouble. 



The tirst inch hole is the air space 

 which is covered with a small piece of 

 wire-cloth ; the second hole is closed 

 tight, so as to give the confined bees a 

 place in which to huddle together in 

 cool weather ; and the third hole, 

 which is at the exit end, is tilled with 

 candy enough to last a queen and her 

 attendants 20 days or more. The 

 whole thing is then covered with a 

 thin board, and taclced fast, making a 

 neat and perfectly safe little package, 

 in which queens can be sent anywhere 

 with safety in cool or warm weather. 



No wrapping or tying is necessary, 

 and the address can be written directly 

 on the smooth surface of the wood. 

 All tlie cost of the cage and the pos- 

 tage on a queen in it, is about l.i 

 cents. 



I want to get help on perfecting this 

 cage, and will send a sample to any 

 who are interested, with pleasure. 

 Suggestions are solicited from all. 



Marlboro. Mass. 



[The sample cage sent with the 

 above article is light in weight, com- 

 modious and yet substantial. It is de- 

 sirable that it be criticised freely, and 

 the offer of Bro. Pratt to send a cage 

 to any one interested, for suggestions 

 looking to an improvement, should be 

 accepted. — Ed.] 



BEES IN CASES. 



Tlie Bee-Ewcape Buard and Il« 

 Practical Use. 



Written for the. American Bee Journal 



BY FRANK COVKRDAI.E. 



On page 739, Mr. Z. T. Hawk rather 

 accuses me of being "fast" in making 

 public my bee-escape board, claiming 

 it to be an invention of Mr. Jno. S. 

 Reese. I do not wish to deprive Mr. 

 Reese of any honor due to him, but the 



Tlie Coverdale Bee-Escape. 



bee-escape board which I mentioned 

 on page 697, is the fruits of mj- own 

 study, as I never heard of any way of 

 getting bees out of section-cases while 

 on the hive, nor of any cone for the 

 purpose. 



I was not a reader of Oleanings, and 

 even if I had been, the cone-case de- 

 scribed on page 727, would not have 



been satisfactory to me, for, as I un- 

 stand it, there must always be an 

 empty surplus case with each board, 

 to have the thing right, otherwise, in 

 an ordinary bee-hive, these long screen 

 cones would be very hard to keep in 

 shape ; or, in other words, many of 

 them would be mashed out of shape. 



In making the cones for my board, 

 cut strips of wire-cloth IJ inches wide, 

 and as long as the piece you cut it 

 from ; on the forming stick mark one 

 side, placing the mark made, even 

 with the end of the screen strip cut 

 out ; roll it just once around or over 

 (the large end of it), and cut it just 

 about i-inch longer, and in the shape 

 of the letter V — not too pointed at the 

 bottom, just so that it will go nicely 

 around the small end of the forming 

 stick, and a little widei\ 



Now wrap the top end of the screen 

 around the large end of the stick 

 snugly, take a wire thread long enough 

 to go 4 or 5 times around, and wrap 

 tightly. Take the two ends of the 

 thread between your finger and thumb, 

 and with the other hand twirl the 

 whole thing over and over, until you 

 have it sufficiently tight. Cut ofl" the 

 rough ends, then press it around the 

 middle and lower point, and then 

 bring around the further side of the 

 screen, which will be too much ; then 

 with the shears clip off the spare cloth, 

 leaving it wrapped over about (in the 

 center) two meshes, and just a little 

 more than to meet at the point. 



Now wrap another wire thread 4 or 

 5 times around just where the forming 

 stick begins to spread the screen, or a 

 little over one-half inch up from 

 the point, and fasten as you did the 

 first. The base of the cone when 

 finished, should be just large enough 

 so as not to go through the | inch 

 auger hole. In order to make the 

 cone go down nicely, with a sharp 

 knife round out the top edge of the 

 board — it is of importance to have the 

 cones go down level and smooth. One 

 of these cones is all that I have been 

 using in a single board, as I think it 

 sufficient ; but if I were to use two, they 

 would not be over one inch apart, and 

 go down between the same to the sec- 

 tions. I think that it is best to have 

 one of these boards for every strong 

 colony in the apiary, as their cost is 

 slight, in comparison with their use- 

 fulness and endurance. 



As soon as the. honey is capped, the 

 board is placed beneath the case, and 

 so on all over the apiary, so it will be 

 seen that I do not have to remove my 

 honey the same day, nor the next — I 

 can take it off at my leisure, even if I 

 should not get at it for a week, when 

 cases fit as they should. 



When I wish to remove the boards, 

 the cones are taken out and put into a 



Ijasket for the imrpose, and the boards 

 put away until again needed. My 

 board will not warp out of shape, for 

 the strips nailed against its outer 

 edge, with a J-inch bee-space project- 

 ing aljove the top surface of it, holds 

 it to its place, and it will last as long 

 as will the hives ; and it is about the 

 same with the cones, if properly cared 

 for, which is easily done. 



This bee-escape board is a very use- 

 ful implement. I will hereafter de- 

 scrilie how I control increase with it, 

 while producing comb honey. 



Welton, Iowa. 



THE UNION. 



The Fifth Report of Its Work, 

 by tlic General manager. 



It becomes ray duty for the fifth time 

 to make a report to the members of 

 the National Bee-Keepers' Union, of the 

 work done. 



The past year has been a glorious 

 one for the Union — one in which its 

 work has been carried to the highest 

 authority in a State (the Supreme 

 Court of Arkansas), and there, by the 

 eloquent arguments of its very able 

 counsel. Judge Williams, of Little 

 Rock, Ark., it has drawn forth a de- 

 cision in favor of the bees, declaring 

 that the pursuit of bee-keeping is legiti- 

 mate and honorable — that bees are not 

 a nuisance ! 



We now warn all the "ignorant" 

 and "prejudiced" to keep their hands 

 off' — and inform them that bee-keepers 

 have rights guaranteed by the Consti- 

 tution of the United States, that all are 

 bound to respect. 



The decision of that Supreme Court 

 is a document that will become of 

 great use as a precedent. It will be a 

 guide for the rulings of judges — for 

 the information of juries — and for the 

 regulation of those who may dare to 

 interfere with a respectable pursuit by 

 law or otherwise ! 



The National Bee-Keepers' Union, in 

 this one instance alone, has been of 

 great benefit to bee-culture, even though 

 it has received but very poor encour- 

 agement and support from bee-keepers 

 in general ! 



HOW IT APPEARS TO OTHERS. 



Speaking of the argument of Judge 

 Williams, Mr. Eugene Secor, a lawyer 

 of Iowa, remarks thus : 



The argument of the counsel for the 

 " Bee-Keepers' Union " in the Aikadelphia 

 bee-lawsuit, will be a valuable contribution 

 to the legal literature of bee-keeping 



Town councils — ^ignorant sometimes of 

 matters jjressed upon their attention by 

 interested and unscruijulous persons— do 

 some very unwise, as well as unlawful, 

 acts; hence the need of just such a prece- 

 dent as this case will furnish, for the pro- 

 tection of bee-keepers in the future. 



