\SH7 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



217 



the advantage of being able to use other than the 

 m X \M section by merely spacing the T's differ- 

 ently; but you have also incurred a grievous dis- 

 advantage. This rest closes the nutnidc entrance to 

 the outside sections. Now, you may at first think 

 that this is not of much consequence; but if you 

 do, you are mistaken. The trouble is not in the 

 storing of liouey, but in removing the bees when 

 the eases are taken from the hives. If these en- 

 trances are left open— a la Miller— a few puffs of 

 smoke, applied as soon as the cover is i-emoved, 

 will drive nearly all the bees down into the brood- 

 chamber. Tf the super be now removed— before 

 that inevitable reaction takes place, and the bees \ 

 come boiling up again— there will not be enough 

 bees left for a quorum; and if put in a tent or some 

 other suitable place they will quickly adjourn. Tf, 

 on the other hand, these entrances are closed, as 

 you propose, the bees between the outside sections 

 and the sides of the super can not readily make 

 their escape, and it will be found impossible to 

 drive them out. Now, if the super is placed in the 

 tent, these remaining bees, because of their num- 

 bers, are by no means in a hurry to vacate. T doubt 

 not that you will see the full force of this at once. 

 An amateur would not be so likely to. 



I have tried both fi.xed and movable tin T's. I 

 much prefer the movable. They will space them- 

 selves more satisfactorily than T can space them. 

 Besides, as you have said, thej^ are better adapted 

 for a follower. 



Dr. Miller makes his T's out of two pieces of tin, 

 13 X 1 inch; mine are 13 x % inch instead, and I have 

 found them much stronger thau necessary. This 

 gives a ''n-inch rest for the sections, and holds the 

 separators J inch from their bottoms. 1 think this 

 preferable to '2 inch. My T's are made of good 

 heavy tin, however; perhaps you use lighter tin 

 where they are "made from one piece. The price of 

 your T's is much less than I have been able to ob- 

 tain the material ready to solder. 



In the use of this super I have found one serious 

 fault. Dr. Miller's supers are IT'b inches long in- 

 side, while yours are Yl\. The sections occupy 

 alone just 17 inches. This % or k of an inch is 

 left for the tin T's, and a little room to work in. 

 It is filled below, but not above. There remains 

 this unoccupied space to be divided between the 

 three spaces between the foui- rows ol sections and 

 the two spaces at the ends of the super. In the 

 first place, if these spaces are not equal (and tliey 

 are not likely to be) the sections are out of square. 

 In the second place, a line of glue will be put along 

 and down into each of these cracks. If a tin T be 

 dropped down between the rows of sections above, 

 to correspond with the one below, it will hold the 

 sections s<iuare; but the last one will be by no 

 means easy to insert, and a line of glue will be 

 placed on each side where the two edges of the T 

 meet the sections. Also, if we use separators :?'; 

 inches wide— and I want none narrower— a special 

 T must be used above, or the T's must be made 

 smaller than you are making them. 



Lastly, if it is attempted to make the super shoit, 

 and crowd the rows of sections together, it will be 

 found ditlieult to place the last row (or, at least, 

 the last few sections) in position, for they will 

 strike on the tops of the tin T's. 



I should like to hear Dr. Miller's experience on 

 the glue question. Wm. Drkw. 



lowaCaty. Iowa, Feb. U», 1887. 



THE T SUPER. 



VALUABLE FACTS FKOM C. C. MILLER IN KE(i.\RD 

 TO ITS PKOl'EH CONSTRUCTION. 



RIEND ROOT:— The L tins that you use in the 

 T super have the advantage that they are 

 simpler and more easily put on than the 

 I'r X 1 pieces of sheet iron I use. They also 

 admit of using sections 3 3-.5 x 4'it, 4J4 x 4'4, 

 and 5-3 x ^\i,. with no change ot the super except 

 the different number of T tins used. Besides, the 

 T tins are less likely to fall out of their places with 

 the L tins. A serious objection that outweighs all 

 these advantages is seen only when you come to 

 take out the sections en niasne. In taking out the 

 sections the superful may be considered as one 

 solid mass, and the only resistance to be overcome 

 is at the outer boundary of this mass where the 

 sections come against the rim ot the super. Y^ou 

 will readily see. that the more nearly you apply 

 your force to the outer boundary of your section 

 mass, the more easily you will remos-e them. If 

 you don't see it readily, just try it. Now, with 

 your L tins the follower must be kept distant from 

 the side of the super a distance at least equal to 

 the width of the horizontal part of the L tin. mak- 

 ing just so much of a tendency for each section in 

 the outside row to separate Irom its next neighbor, 

 and wedge itself against the side of the super. By 

 making the supports for the T tins detached, as I 

 use them, I am enabled to have the follower larg- 

 er, so as to come under the whole bottom of the 

 section, by simply cutting out places in the follow- 

 er for the square sheet-iron supports to pass 

 through ; thus: 



KOLLOWl'IU roK 



KMPTVIN<i 



THIS T SUPIOK. 



(■■k; 1. 



I tried a continuous piece for a support instead 

 of the detached pieces, but rejected it after trial. 

 A minor objection to the continuous piece is, that 

 it shuts off the outside openings for the bees to 

 pass up into the sections (in the case of pound sec- 

 tions, i;losing two of the seven openings*, leaving, 

 instead, a convenient place for the bees to fill with 

 propolis, thereby increasing the difficulty of re- 

 moval. If, however, I were obliged to use the L 

 tins I would fasten them on 



^^•^ 



thus: 



..«*'^ 



instead of thus: 



FIG. 3. FIG. 3. 



That is, I would have the bee-space at the top in- 

 stead of the bottom of the super. T never tried 

 your plan, but I studied over it carefully. My 

 hives are made like many others, with a bee-space 

 on top of the frames, so that it is more convenient 

 on that account to have the bee-space at the top 

 of the super. But if no beespace were on top of 

 the frames I think I would make one there by put- 

 ting a little rim around the top of the brood- 

 chamber so I could have the bee-space at the top 

 ot the super. Perhaps I can explain why. It is 



