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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Xrecs, Flower© and Birds. 



Two men toiled side by side from sun to sun. 



And both were poor ; 

 Both sat with children when the day was done, 



About their door. 



One saw the beautiful in crimson cloud 



And shining moon ; 

 The other with his head in sadness bowed, 



Made night of noon. 



One loved each tree and flower and singing bird 



On mount or plain ; 

 No music in the soul of one was stirred 



By leaf or rain. 



One saw the good in every fellow man, 



And hoped the best ; 

 The other marvelled at his Master's plan, 



And doubt confessed. 



One having heaven above and heaven below, 



Was satisfied ; 

 The other, discontented, lived in woe, 



And hopeless died. 

 —Boston Evening Transcript. 



Topics or Interest. 



Claiming tlie First Bee-Escaje, 



JOHN W. SILCOTT. 



I am informed, through the Bee Jour- 

 nal (page 405), by Mr. Dibbern, that I 

 am mistaken in claiming the first bee- 

 escape, as I did on page 369. He says 

 that the first bee-escape was patented 

 in 1860. This is the first knowledge I 

 have of any bee-escape, patented or 

 otherwise, prior to 1882. A patent of 

 1860 would have expired before 1882, 

 and, therefore, would not invalidate one 

 of that date. I do think that if the two 

 are alike in general principles, the 

 Patent Office officials committed an 

 error in allowing a patent on the same 

 thing the second time. 



I will now give what is claimed by the 

 patent of 1882, so far as it relates to 

 bee-escapes: "In order to eliminate 

 the bees from the honey-boxes, I employ 

 a glass-covered conductor, H, which 

 has open communication with the honey- 

 boxes through the aperture C, and to the 

 brood-chamber through the aperture K. 

 Within this conductor H is arranged a 

 cross-bar i, having aperture i', in which 

 operates the tongue I' of the plate I, 

 pivoted within the sides of the conductor. 



"The entrance to the honey-boxes 

 having been closed, the bees find their 

 exit through C into the conductor, thence 

 under the plate I, which allows of their 

 passage, but prevents their return, and 



thence through K Into the brood-cham- 

 ber." 



There is another cross-bar shown in 

 the drawing, but not mentioned in the 

 specification. The conductor, as it is 

 here called, is the outer case in which is 

 arranged the working parts of the bee- 

 escape, with the entrance at or near one 

 end, and the exit into the brood-chamber 

 at the other. The cross-bar, with an 

 aperture about one-half inch in length, 

 and full bee-space in width, is secured 

 to the sides of the conductor in an up- 

 right position, with the aperture length- 

 wise of and parallel to the floor of the 

 conductor. 



"The plate is delicately hinged behind 

 this cross-bar, but not in contact with 

 it, and at an acute angle with the raised 

 floor under the plate. The front edge 

 of the plate stands directly behind the 

 aperture in the cross-bar, and divides it 

 lengthwise into two half bee-spaces. It 

 is this division of the bee-space, by the 

 edge of the plate, that prevents the 

 return of the bees from the hive side. 



The second cross-bar, with projecting 

 arms, is only used to protect the hinges ; 

 the arms to regulate and keep the edge 

 of the pivoted plate at the desired point. 



If rightly understood, it will be seen 

 that this bee-escape has only three inside 

 pieces. The cross-bars and raised floor 

 protect the edge of the plate from pro- 

 polis, and from the force of the bees 

 from the hive side, in their efforts to 

 return. It will also be noticed that the 

 bees from the surplus cases have only 

 to raise the plate half a bee-space to 

 get from under it, and at the same time 

 pass out through the aperture in the 

 cross-bar. 



Mr. Dibbern says that from my de- 

 scription of the bee-escape, on page 369, 

 he judges it to be antiquated and worth- 

 less, and instead of the patent covering 

 modern bee-escapes, it is quite likely it 

 is covered by the patent of 1860. I do 

 not understand how he could judge of it 

 correctly from my former description, as 

 I did not give any description of it ex- 

 cept to say that it had a pivoted plate 

 over a raised floor. Now, if my bee- 

 escape is so antiquated and worthless, 

 why does the inventor of the new and 

 only successful bee-escape use the con- 

 ductor with an entrance at or near one 

 end, and the exit at the other, and seven 

 sections, forming three cross-bars and 

 four apertures ? I have taken this view 

 of his bee-escape from the cut in his 

 advertisement, and do not think that I 

 have erred in my judgment. 



This arrangement of Mr. Dibbern's 

 is not new to me, as I tested this princi- 



