e (|)ee- 



\eepeps' jHeViecu 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL 



Devoted to tlqe Iqterests of Hoqey Producers. 



$L00 A YEAR, 



W. Z. HOTCHlNSOfl, Editop & Pfop . 



VOL, IV, FLINT. MICHIGAN, JULY 10. 1891. NO. 7. 



The special topie of this issue is 



" Bee- Escapes. " 



That of the next issue tiiill be 



" House Apiaries," 



Bee Escapes, their Origin, Requisites, 

 Advantages and Improvements. 



C. H. DIEBERN. 



fAM GLAD the ]!etiew has chosen 

 this topic for the -luly issue, as it is one 

 of the live subjects of our business. 

 During the past few years I have experi- 

 mented a great deal with escapes, and given 

 much thought and study to the matter. For 

 this reason I will jjresume that an article 

 from me will be welcome. 



I do not claim to have originated the idea 

 of bee escapes, that is, to compel bees to de- 

 sert the supers for the hive below. I think 

 Mr. Reese is fairly entitled to this honor, 

 although an escape for doing this very thing 

 was patented more than thirty years ago. 

 I do clai'i), however, tliat I was the first to 

 make the idea practical, in my horizontal 

 escape, and do away with the objectionable 

 features of the Reese and other escai)es. 

 It is not my object, however, to quarrel 

 about priority, as I am perfectly willing 

 to let bee-keepers settle that question for 

 themselves. 



Now let us see what is really required in a 

 perfect bee escape. First, we must have a 

 board with which to cut off the supers from 

 the hive. It has been suggested that there 

 should be a rim of various dimensions im- 

 mediately under the board, leaving a vacant 

 space between it and the hive or super. 

 This is not at all necessary, as I have proved 

 by many experiments. What any one wants 

 of such a sfjace, for jees to cluster and 

 buikl comb in, I cannot understand. It was 

 this very difficulty with the Reese that led 

 me to plan the horizontal escape. The es- 

 cape board should have only % bee space on 

 each side of it when in place. Any escape 

 that will not work in such a board is of no 

 account. I use only a J^ inch board, but I 

 am inclined to tliink that a % or 3^ would 

 be better on some accounts. All seem to be 

 pretty much agreed as to the kind of board 

 required. I find many other uses for these 

 boards. In summer they are used for inner 

 covers to the honey cases and in winter they 

 are covers to the liives in the cellar. 



Since I first illustrated the horizontal es- 

 cape in the A. B. J. for November 15, 188'J, 

 many forms of escapes have been brought 

 out; some showing great ingenuity. 



It may be asked, if this form of escape is of 

 such importance, why was the one of thirty 

 years ago lost sight of ? Well, to judge from 

 the cut publishe'd in Gleanings, it seems to 

 have been a kind of trap door arrangement, 

 and it is likely that the bees soon " fixed " 

 the door with propcjlis. We must remember, 

 too, that the surplus arrangements of those 



