GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15. 



plenty of time to try again more largely. Then 

 if it pleases you, use the whole apiary in the 

 same way if you desire, with no fear of a heavy 



loss. G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Borodino, N. Y., July, 1891. 



[I am inclined to think the dots on the queens 

 are mostly accidental, although I agree with 

 you that they are much more likely to appear 

 on a queen that has black blood. We have sev- 

 eral tin.'es given our opinion that it did not pay 

 to buy or sell unfertile queens. If one could be 

 sure of getting them, the day they were hatch- 

 ed, either in the hive or some kind of nursery, 

 they might pi'ove valuable: but when it comes 

 to trying to introduce those that are several 

 days old. our experience is exactly with you. 



This matter of answering our own questions 

 has much truth in it; yet as long as these ques- 

 tions, when asked through a joui'nal, tend to 

 start discussion and bring out a variety of ex- 

 perience. I think to a certain extent they should 

 be encouraged. 



We. as a rule, see but little difference in foun- 

 dation that is j)ut into frames or sections a year 

 before. Sometimes it seems as if there were a 

 difference; at other times not, so that circum- 

 stances have Drobablv much to do with it.] 



success in evei-y way. The Porters certainly 

 deserve the thanks and hearty patronage of 

 bee-keepers for giving us a perfect bee-escape. 

 But there is a great deal of credit that should 

 go to J. S. Reese for popularizing the idea, al- 

 though there were one or two who pi-eceded 

 him in the use of cones for getting bees out of 

 the supers of comb honey. Those to whom I 

 refer are A. E. Manum and H. R. Boardman. 

 There is still another man who deserves much 

 credit for helping to popularize the escape, and 

 that is our friend of I\Iilau. 111.. Mr. C. H. Dib- 

 bern. Now that we have a pei'fect bee-escape, 

 whether there is a patent or not we hope no one 

 will attempt to make them except the Porters. 

 It requires considerable mechanical skill to 

 make them perfect; and the Porters so far have 

 given us something that is very neat, and 

 which accomi)lishes its obiect admirably.] 



E. R. • 



BEE-ESCAPES— THE PORTER, PERFECTION. 



.JOHN S. REESE, THE ORIGINATOR OF THE ES- 

 CAPE, DECIDES IN FAVOR OF THE PORTER. 



The writer, who claims to know something 

 about the working of escapes, has now in actu- 

 al use a number of Portei-'s spring escapes, and 

 takes pleasure in stating that they are working 

 perfectly under all circmnstancos; and the 

 rousing big colonies clean thems(>lves out of the 

 supers just as quickly and perfectly as any of 

 the smaller colonies. A Reese horizontal es- 

 cape (which is very nearly perfect), woi'ked 

 side by side with the Porter, was badly left, as 

 it were; and the Porter will be used in the 

 Highland Apiary exclusively, in the future. 

 These escapes have been left in place on top of 

 strong colonies for several weeks at a time, and 

 the bees seem to make no effoi't to i)lug up tlie 

 springs with propolis — a very nice little vent- 

 hole for these warm days. It seems absolutely 

 impossible for the bees to return to the supers 

 through the springs, so what better should we 

 want? and it makes very little difference now 

 who invented the bee-escape, since we have a 

 cheap and perfect one. The most of us know 

 who first published the principle, even if friend 

 W. Z. H. and his big brother did laugh; the 

 July Review will change its tune. 



Why is it the proprietors of bee- journals don't 

 make a thorough test or trial of the new inven- 

 tions as soon as they know about them, and give 

 their readers the benefit? It seems as if it 

 might pay them to send an expert to the birth- 

 place of any thing that promises good results, 

 "Avhere they could see for themselves. 



Winchester, Ky.. June 29. J. S. Reese. 



[Friend R..your unselfish impartiality in decid- 

 ing that the Porter bee-escape is away ahead 

 of your own is commendable, not to say praise- 

 worthy. Would that there were moi'e of this 

 candor among inventors. In I'egard to the bee- 

 journals testing these new things, and giving a 

 report of them, if you will refei- to our volume 

 of last year you will see that we tested the Por- 

 ter bee-escape in our own apiary, and gave a 

 report to the effect that it was th<' best bee- 

 escape, and the only one that would rid the su- 

 pers of every bee; and now the repoi ts are com- 

 ing in, thick and fast, that the Porter is a grand 



THE PORTER BEE-ESCAPE IN CALIFORNIA. 



J. F. M'INTYRE gives his experience WITH IT. 



The following is a communication sent to the 

 Messrs. Porter, and has been by them forwarded 

 to us, at the request of Mr. Mclntyre. We are 

 glad to publish it entire. 



Messrs. R. & E. C. Porter:— I have tried your 

 V)ee-escapes under various conditions, to see 

 what they would do, and will now submit my 

 report. In the first place, it is far superior to 

 any other bee-escape which I have tried, and I 

 have tried several. Being positive in its action, 

 it will finally clear the bees out of any super, 

 no matter ho\\' large. I find that the length of 

 time taken to clear a super of bees depends on 

 the kind and number of Ijees. and the size ©f the 

 super. AT super full of comb honey will be 

 cleared of bees in about five houi's. Extracting 

 supers with small frames like Heddon's or Dr. 

 Tinker's ai'e cleared neai'ly as quickly, say in 

 six hours. With a full-depth ten-frame Lang- 

 stroth super it takes much longer — from 12 to 24 

 hours, owing to the number of bees in the 

 super. The bees seem to be more contented to 

 stay in a large super, or else they get dis- 

 couraged trying to find the way out, and give it 

 up. Our nights are always cool here, no matter 

 how hot it is in the day time; and if the escapes 

 have to be left on over night, the honey gets 

 cold, and does not extract so well. I shall use 

 your escape to take oft' what comb honey I pi'o- 

 duce, and brush the bees from my extracting 

 combs as before, while I use Langstroth supers. 



Fillmore, Cal., June 23. J. F. McIntyre. 



OVERSTOCKING. 



TOO SMALL RATHER THAX 

 LARGE FOR A LOCALITY. 



Mr. Root:— There has already been a great 

 deal written on this subject; but, of course, 

 from the uature of the case little in the way of 

 conclusion can be arrived at. Even recorded 

 experiments are often misleading, because there 

 are so many things that modify results. How- 

 ever, as I am very fond of reading the thoughts 

 and experience of others on this subject, I will 

 offer some of my own. hoping it may prove in- 

 teresting to some, and awaken more'thought on 

 the subject. 



My location, until the fall of 1888, was at 

 Ainswortli. la.; and in the season of 1877 I 

 thought I did exceedingly well when IgotlKJDlbs. 

 extracted honey from 12 colonies, spring count, 

 and increased "to 2.5 colonies. In the spring of 



