306 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Spring feeding of bees. It may not be 

 good Winter food, but when bees can fly, 

 will do no harm, — Prairie Fanner. 

 Peoria, 111. 



History of Bee-Escaiies, 



G. W. DEMABEE. 



A friend of mine has suggested that 

 an article from my pen, on the history of 

 bee-escapes, would be read with interest, 

 now, since the device has been made a 

 practical help in the apiary. There is 

 some responsibility attached to such an 

 undertaking, because of the difficulty 

 the historian finds in the way of doing 

 justice to all. 



The first hint we have of a "bee- 

 escape" in our nomenclature was printed 

 on a device to permit bees to escape 

 from a dark closet and prevent them 

 from returning to carry away the honey. 

 This device was invented by the writer 

 of this article and exhibited by him a,t 

 the National Convention, at Lexington, 

 Ky., in 1881. Mention is made of this 

 device in the report of the Committee ou 

 Exhibits, as may be seen by referring to 

 the report of the proceedings of the Con- 

 vention as given in the Americax Bee 

 JouENAL of that year. 



The concern was made of wood and 

 glass and was in the form of a V and 

 had a spring at the apex for the bees to 

 "escape." Afterward I substituted the 

 wire cone ; and in 1887 1 began to exper- 

 iment with an entirely new principle. 

 This new principle consisted of a deli- 

 cately adjusted trap-door, or swinging 

 gate, in what I call a chute. This tiny 

 swinging gate was so finely adjusted in 

 the passageway or chute that the slight- 

 est touch from the inside would swing 

 the under part of the trap-door outward 

 and let the bees "escape," but when 

 pressure was brought to bear from with- 

 out, a "stop" at the bottom of the chute 

 prevented the door from swinging in- 

 wardly and no bee could force her way 

 back. 



When I was experimenting with this 

 tiny swinging trap-door, Mr. J. S. Reese, 

 of Winchester, Ky., sent me his wire- 

 cloth device applied to a horizontal 

 division-board. Thus he became the first 

 to apply the bee-escape to a honey-board, 

 and is now the accepted father of the 

 present, practical bee-escape — one of the 

 greatest helps known to modern bee 

 culture. 



With this new idea I revised my tiny 

 trap-door plan, and having adjusted it 



in a small tin chute, so as to fit it in a 

 honey-board, it became a perfect success. 



While Reese and Dibbern were work- 

 ing to perfect their labyrinthine plan, I 

 was hopeful that they would succeed, 

 till experience taught me that nothing 

 but mechanical force would prevent bees 

 from returning in numbers sufficient to 

 annoy the apiarist. Now, it seems a 

 little singular, but the facts appear to 

 warrant the conclusion, that Mr. Porter 

 was at the same time experimenting with 

 his delicately adjusted spring device, 

 which he has patented, and therefore 

 brought into general notice. 



Some friend sent me two of Porter's 

 escapes and I immediately adjusted them 

 in suitably made honey-boards and have 

 given them the severest trial, right 

 beside my swinging-door device, and I 

 have no hesitation in saying that noth- 

 can be more simple, and few devices will 

 ever be more efficient in performance 

 than the trembling little springs which 

 constitute the Porter bee-escape. But it 

 is my opinion it will meet a rival in the 

 subtle, swinging trap-door, when I have 

 procured machinery that will make 

 the little gates perfect. 



Now, in conclusion, I have to say that 

 from the Ree^e labyrinthine idea, the 

 bee-escapes of to-day, and of the future 

 are, and will be, a progression of ideas. 

 — Review. 



Christiansburg, Ky. 



Tliree Soiinils Maie liy Bees, 



DR. C. C. MILLER. 



On page 1-12, Prof. Leader says: "It 

 has been found that the wings have no 

 part in the formation of sound." This 

 is not in accord with the teachings of 

 other investigators. Indeed, Prof. 

 Leader himself, in the very next sentence, 

 unwittingly contradicts his own state- 

 ment, for he says that when the wing is 

 more or less cut away there is a different 

 pitch of the sound. Now, pitch is a very 

 important part of a sound, for when you 

 take away the pitch there is no sound 

 left ; in other words, there is no sound 

 without pitch. So if the wings take 

 part in the formation of pitch, then they 

 have a "part in the formation of sound." 



What he probably meant was, that 

 while the wings might modify the pitch 

 of a sound, they were not the main fac- 

 tors in making the sound. But even this 

 ground is untennable, according to high 

 authorities ; at least, it is only part Of 

 the truth. 



