1887 



(..LtAXlWGS IN BEE C'lLll UE. 



219 



ticed by j^ourself antl others, obviate the 

 difficulty in a great measure V For the 

 most part, the l)ees would have a tendency 

 to pass directly into tiu' central rows of 

 sections from the hrood-nests. Eknkst. 



Dr. Millei' replies as follows: 



r have looked your K'ttcr over carefully, and will 

 now consider the dillerent points. First, you adapt 

 theTsuper to the Simplicity hive. If nearly all 

 your customers use Simplicities, there is weight in 

 this. In settlinjr upon it for my own use, however, 

 I thought it of first importance to have the super 

 just ris-ht, and if the super in that shape was not 

 adapted to the hive, why, then the hive must he 

 adapted to the super. The super is no more adapted 

 to my hive than it is to the Simplicity, so 1 adapt 

 ray hive to the super: and if I had Simplicities I 

 feel pretty sure I would not change the super, but 

 adapt the hive to it. If I understand it rightly, your 

 super is to sit directly on ahe frames, and I feel 

 pretty sure that, after you have once tried this, 

 and also tried the slat honey-board, j-ou will never 

 again do without the hitter. You see it is different 

 from usinjf wide frames. In that case the bits of 

 comb are built between the brood-frames and the 

 wide frames, leaving the sections clean. But in 

 the case of the T super the bits of comb will be fas- 

 tened directly on the sections, and each time that a 

 new super is added in tiering- up. the freshly added 

 sections will, in their turn, be built under with 

 bridges of comb. Now. this is simply unendurable; 

 and I think, when you look over the whole ground 

 fully, you will agree with me, that, for this super, 

 the slat houey-board is nothing more or less than a 

 necessity. If you agree with me in this, then it will 

 not be a very difficult thing to make a slat honey- 

 board that will fit the Simplicity hive and accommo- 

 date perfectly the T super. In other words, the 

 honey-board will serve as an adapter. This frees 

 us from the expense of an outside shell, but in its 

 place we have the expense of honey-boards; but as 

 we must have the honey-board any way, we need 

 count only a small jjart of the cost of the honey- 

 board— just what it costs extra (if any thing) to 

 make it fit the super. Keep in mind all the time, 

 that, by so doing, we leave the super in perhaps its 

 best shape, and ready to be used on any hive. This 

 latter, however, doesn't count for much, if any 

 thing, for the super as you propose it can also be 

 used on anj' hive. By the way, I would, I think, 

 have a honey-board for the S. hive with a lower 

 beveled edge to fit the hive, and the top level to fit 

 the super. 



Vour objection to the square sheet-iron pieces in- 

 stead of the L tins (being lost in the packing) is a 

 valid one; and you might have added, that the L 

 tins are much easier put on. But in packing, if the 

 number of pieces be small they can be wrapped in 

 stout paper and nailed on. If the bee-space must 

 be at the bottom, then I would still use the sheets 

 iron pieces, putting them on L shaped. 



Vou ask if contraction, which I and others pi-ac- 

 tice, will not obviate the objection, that the L tins 

 will hinder the bees from passing directly into the 

 outside row of sections. The greatest objection, 

 at least one of the greatest objections to the sys- 

 tem of contraction, is that it prevents the bees 

 from being directly under all parts of the super, 

 unless dummies be used between the brood-frames 

 to make the brood-nest wider. If I had only three 

 frames in the brood-nest I should just as much 



waut direct passage into the outside row of sections, 

 in order to encourage outside work, and I would 

 then have the rhrce l>ro(>dframes under one side of 

 the super; and after work was well started in the 

 one side of the super, reverse (not invert) it and let 

 them start in the other. The bees will find abun- 

 dant room to enter at center of sujjer, but I would 

 rather close some of the central entrances and 

 force the fullest use of the side entrances, so as to 

 induce ccjual work in all parts of (he super. I may 

 say, in passing, that the contraction business may 

 not be a permanent affair. 



You say no complaint has been made of tlie width 

 of the Moore super. Wen^ n<jt the Moore supers 

 used without separators';" Even with tin separators, 

 some difference in widtli would be needed. After 

 largely trying both wood and tin separators, both 

 in wide frames and T supers, 1 could not be induceil 

 to use wood on wide frames, and I would object al- 

 most as strongly to tin in T supers. I am using wood 

 separators, having thrown aside thousands of tin, oc- 

 casionally using a tin one where the fit is unusuallj- 

 tight. Wood is Warmer than tin; and when used 

 loose in a super it keeps straight where tiu would 

 bend. Moreover, a width that would just do in a 

 Moore super would be too tight for a T super; that 

 is, if the Moore super is what I have called a Hed- 

 don super. In the Moore super, if a section is 

 started in at all, it can be crowded down into place, 

 as the wooden wall on each side keeps it right in its 

 place. On the other hand, in the T super, if tight, 

 the edges of the .sections will slip by each other, 

 and will also catch on the T tins. As I think more 

 about it, I object seriously to having the supers hold 

 more than 'Zi 1-lb. sections. I would rathei- have 

 them smaller than larger. (I forgot to say, that 1 

 think the large majority of your customers use tin 

 instead of wood separators because they have been 

 in the habit of using tin on wide frames, and have 

 never tried wood. After trying wood I think they 

 will prefer it where the sejjarators are not nailed 

 on.) Whilst I do not believe as much in contraction 

 as some do, I hardly think you will want to run 

 more than seven oreight brood-frames while supers 

 are on; and I know from troublesome experience 

 that it is very undesirable to have the super wider 

 than the brood-nest. Bees will not work nearly as 

 well in that part of the super which has no brood- 

 frames under. If the super must be 13(i inches in 

 width, then I would put in only six l-lb. sections in 

 width, and fill up the empty space with a follower 

 fastened with double-pointed wedges like this: 



E. S. Armstrong, and perhaps others, use this ar- 

 rangement, and I rather like it. 



I think T shall hereafter use T tins on top as well 

 as under the sections. It will cost an additional 

 three cents per super, and they will hold the sec- 

 tions more smoothly in place, and also prevent the 

 bees from daubing propolis on the sides of the sec- 

 tions. 



Referring to page .51 of " A Year Among the 

 Bees." at the bottom you will see I covered supers 

 with quilts. The past season I used with great sat- 

 isfaction 50 wooden covers on the supers, and shall 

 use them entirely the coming summer. It is simply 

 a plain cover as wide as the super, and as long, or a 

 little longer, m.ule of '8 pine, cleated. 



