•liM 



GLEANINGS IN EEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 



ANOTHER CONE-CASE BEE-ESCAPE. 



ONK WHICH ANTEDATES THE ONE DESCKIBED BY 

 .1. S. REESE ON PAGE 15. 



fl HE wire-cone bee-escapes described by Mr. 

 ^ Reese I have used quite extensively /oc <it;o 

 seaso)is. I have experimented with them in 

 various ways and under various circum- 

 stances. I think them a valuable improve- 

 ment in the hands o( the careful apiarist in the 

 saving- of time and labor at a season of the year 

 when such labor-saving improvements in the apia- 

 ry are most appreciated; and especially in out- 

 apiaries, where I had no bee-house or place to work 

 out of the reach of the bees, 1 have been able to 

 use them with decided advantag-e. I have used 

 them in the manner sugKested by Dr. C. C. Miller, 

 by piling the cases from a number of colonies to- 

 gether in piles, as high as convenient, and placing 

 an empty case with cones on top of each pile, the 

 cones pro.iecting ui)ward. I have never been able 

 to make this plan work quite as well as by using one 

 of the fixtures on each separate surplus apart- 

 ment. The objection is, that it seems in some way, 

 by bringing the bees of a number of different colo- 

 nies in contact, to communicate to the bees in the 

 hives that something a little out of the usual line 

 is going on. The young bees, too, that happen to 

 be in the cases are not able to find their way home, 

 and they hanar about the escape and attract the 

 other bees. 



H. K. BOARDMAN'S hive, AND HOW HE USES A 

 BEE-ESCAPE. 



I use mostly wide frames for sections in the regu- 

 lar size of hive, especially in out-apiaries. When I 

 wish to remove them I simply lift them up and 

 place a cover on top of the brood-chamber be- 

 tween that and the surplus hive, leaving the sur- 

 plus hive on top of the brood-hive just as it was, 

 only separated by the cover. 1 have entrance 

 strips about VA inches wide, as at A, which are 

 held in position by a wire button, D, and for the 

 purpose of closing or regulating the entrance. 

 These also I use for bee-escapes by putting a cone 

 over a hole made through them, and one of these I 

 place over the surplus-hive entrance. The cone 

 will project out over the hive as In the cut. This 

 enables the bees, young as well as old, to find their 

 way back to the brood-hives. I have, on several 

 occasions, left surplus hives exposed in the apiary 

 after the bees had run out. for several days, in 



order to test the value of the escape, and no bees 

 were ever attracted after they were done running 

 out, and this, too, at a time when there was no 

 honey coming in. But T discovered that the bees 

 from other hives will sometimes find their way in 

 through the cones, at the time the bees are escap- 

 ing, therefore I would advise care in their use. 



The method of placing an empty case, containing 

 the escapes, between the brood-chamber and the 

 surplus, as described by Mr. Reese, has some ad- 

 vantages, but it involves a little too much manipula- 

 tion to suit me in working in out-apiaries, and es- 

 pecially if it can be done a shorter way. 



I have never been able to see any advantage in 

 having the cones double. The theory is a good one, 

 and I was quite sure, before trying them, that, by 

 preventing the bees from feeding through they 

 would be much better; but after trying them I be- 

 came satisfied that they were no better, and I aban- 

 doned them entirely for those made single. I find 

 no trouble in making them with no other machine- 

 ry or fixtures than simply a hard-wood form of the 

 shape 1 wish the cones. This form is pointed, and by 

 pressing it through a piece of wire cloth of proper 

 size and then by pulling and pressing, the cloth will 

 assume the required shape, and at the same time 

 the opening at the apex can be made the desired 

 size. I have made a great many in this way for 

 various purposes. Any one can satisfj' himself in 

 regard to this method of making the cones, in a 

 very few minutes. The projecting corners of the 

 wire cloth may be trimmed off after the cones are 

 formed. 



I made a report of this same matter at the 

 National Convention, at Chicago; but I presume 

 among the very many other good things brought 

 forward, these caused it to be overlooked or for- 

 gotten. 



I trust that our good friend Mr. Reese, who has 

 taken so much pains to describe this fixture, both 

 in its use and manufacture, for the benefit of the 

 bee-keeping fraternity, will not entertain a thought 

 that I am trying to deprive him of any thing that 

 belongs to him. Surely, if he has not priority in 

 the invention he has been generous in bringing it 

 promptly forward and oflerlng it to the public. 



H. R. BOARDMAN. 



East Townsend, O., Jan. 30, 1888. 



The following is a private note ; but as 

 there are several things of interest in it we 

 give it to our readers: 



Friend Root :— After I had finished writing the de- 

 scription of the bee-escape it occurred to me that it 

 would he just the thing to hitch Holland to the sleigh 

 this pleasant afternoon, and take my hives to our 

 artist and have a picture made of them for your 

 benefit. The result please find inclosed. The pic- 

 ture shows "the hive I use," with surplus apart- 

 ment raised on top of the brood hive, and the en- 

 trance bee-escape attached. I have, in the pic- 

 ture, raised the cover of the surplus hive at the 

 side and slid it back a little, and the side of the 

 hive I have removed, giving you a good view of 

 the first frame of sections nearest the side of the 

 hive, and it also enables you to see the way the 

 cover rests on the hive-cleats in order to give a bee- 

 space over the top of the frames. 



This movable side is a feature of "My Hive" 

 which I think I have not before explained to you. 

 You will see very readily what excellent facility it 

 gives for examining the surplus apartment. It af- 



