184 



TBE BEE-KEEPERS' UKVIEW. 



of thirteeu two-story hives packed there was 

 a loss of four against uone among those not 

 packed, while of the one story oues the loss 

 among the packed ones was more than 

 twice as great as among the unpacked ones. 



For stimulative feeding it is to be said 

 that it shows a very trilling advantage in 

 three cases and is at a disadvantage in the 

 fourth case. 



It should be remembered, however, that in 

 order to be conclusive repeated experiments 

 must be made, as the results may depend on 

 the character of the season. 



This hive history is to be continued during 

 the season and interesting results may be 

 looked for if there should be a fair honey 

 How which is to be hoped for though the 

 present prospect is very unpromising. 



Lafeeb. Mich. 



June 2^t, 1894. 



The Workine of Bee - Escapes in General; 

 The Philosophy of the Matter. 



C. W. DATTON. 



How IS it ? Look with eyes and see, 

 And not within thy study chair 

 With restful heels thrust up somewhere, 



Decide just how it ought to be. 



ihad confidently 

 hoped that the 

 article in the last 

 Review would re- 

 lease me from fur- 

 ther discussion of 

 the subject but af- 

 ter reading it over 

 I see that I am af- 

 flicted with the 

 disease described 

 by Friend (Mr.) 

 Hasty on page 139 

 of the May Re- 

 view — wrote what I did not mean to say, 

 namely, "'before the bees would take time 

 to find their way through they would take 

 time to unload." While they would likely 

 take the " time " I doubt if many "unload." 

 They seem to load up to go through the es- 

 cape about the same as when smoked out, 

 but I do not remember of having seen any 

 cells uncapped, as by the smoke plan, even 

 where the combs had every cell sealed ; so I 



infer that nearly all bees which are found on 

 finished combs, in supers, go there with a 

 load. In a super of entirely sealed combs 

 they would remain loaded because there 

 would not be any suitable place for it. I say 

 suitable because I believe they aim to dis- 

 pose of their loads where it will be immedi- 

 ately taken care of and where the sealers are 

 at work, rather than any vacant cell. In 

 tiering up, the bees in the finished crate 

 would likely be straggling loaded ones. Af- 

 ter the harvest unloaded bees might be there, 

 but finished combs should be removed while 

 the honey flow continues. It is partly fin- 

 ished ones which are allowed to remain until 

 it is certain the harvest is entirely over. 



The article should have stated that the 

 number used was either 48, GO or 72 and no 

 crates were removed except by the aid of es- 

 capes. This is as far as extensive experi- 

 ence goes, and I believe there is much 

 truth in the following paragraph from page 

 158 of the Progressive Bee-Keeper. " Those 

 having several hundred colonies can not 

 have the intimate acquaintance with indi- 

 vidual colonies that enables the small bee- 

 keeper to experiment with this one and that 

 one." It is an experiment to ascertain if an 

 escape is of any use at all, but it may be a 

 far greater or more complicated or expen- 

 sive one to adopt it into the present system 

 of management. So we may advise the 

 operator to understand the disposition of the 

 bees upon every inch of one escape and its 

 board before aplying it to the management 

 of 100 colonies. 



" Fitness of person is taking the highest 

 rank in the bee business in the place of hon- 

 ey producing hives and fixtures," first ap- 

 peared in the American Bee-Keeper, then on 

 page 355 of the American Bee Journal. Now 

 if we extract so much of this abundant store 

 of "fitness" as was derived from experi- 

 ments with and the manipulation of the 

 hives and fixtures, how much will you give 

 for his assistance in your apiary this sum- 

 mer ? And unless we continue to experi- 

 ment with escapes and other recent ad- 

 ditions to the "hive and fixture" line will 

 not the " fitness of person" have about at- 

 tained its climax ? 



I first began experimenting with escapes, 

 to get bees out of supers when I worked all 

 day in the printing oflice, putting the escapes 

 on the hives in the morning and carrying 

 the crates of honey into the house in the 



