996 



American Bee Journal 



Dec. 6, 1906 



Doctor, and I am glad that I followed 



You and I and other users of T-supers 

 know that we have a good thing, but 

 we "> ' - well keep silent about it, so 

 far as making any impression on deal- 

 ers is concerned, for they do not wish 

 to know about T-supers. As for me, 

 I am convinced that they do not favor 

 the idea of spreading the light of the 

 T-super, either — let the motives be what 

 they may— or you would not have wit- 

 i the change in the way this super 

 las been treated in the annual cata- 

 logs. From a beautiful cut far removed 

 from the regular goods, with wording 

 :o suit, the only thing remaining to jus- 

 :ify the claim that it has not been 

 iropped, is the mention that customers 

 nay have their choice of Dovetailed, T, 

 :tc, at the same price. 



There, now. Doctor, you have my 

 deas on the subject, although I have 

 >y no means said everything there is 

 o be said in favor of the T-super. One 

 ■hould work with both kinds on a 

 airly large scale to be able to draw 

 iroper conclusions. The T-super has 

 ts faults, to-wit: That sections can not 

 eadily be moved about if that should 

 lecome necessary; a T-super does not 

 vork nearly as well over a box-hive 

 s does a section-holder super, for the 

 lats are a distinct protection in that 

 ase. When carelessly handled, the 

 .-super has a way of dumping sections 

 ins and all, in a heap. But after hav- 

 ng girls and bovs, men and women 



help me for 12 years. I have had 

 bout a half-dozen supers act in that 

 /ay, and only one that I can remem- 

 er which was filled with honey. 



The T-super makes it necessary to 

 se little strips of wood or tin between 

 ie sections on top to fill the spaces . 

 tade by the T-tins below. This is 

 ussy work, and reallv isn't pleasant 

 >on't you think so, Doctor? But you 

 'ill agree with me. no doubt, that the 

 r orlc of putting those strips in is not 

 early so great as some people would 

 ke to make it out to be. Some peo- 

 le can not put together section-holder 

 Jpers without making a great deal of 

 iss about it, and so it is with T-supers 

 -very move necessary is magnified un- 



1 one would suppose that it took 10 

 recious minutes to load one T-super 

 low much can you beat that, Doctor? 



Now I am not extra swift, but by 

 -tual time, I have put top and bottom 

 arters in 24 sections, set them into 

 ie 1 -super, put in separators and fol- 

 wer and springs, keyed them all up 

 >hd, and inserted the strips, in 6 min- 

 I don't know that I can keep 

 iat up all day, but I will gamble that 



can do them by the hundred in 8 

 mutes. If the section-holder super 

 lmits of more rapid manipulation than 

 is, the difference will probably be due 



the strips. 

 There are those who throw sections 

 to supers regardless of regularity, 

 me with dovetails up and some with 

 •vetails down. The separators stick 

 1 here and stick down there, and the 

 d-bars lean this way and that, leav- 

 g gaps and cracks all over. But I 

 1 not urge the T-super on such peo- 

 2. If one is going to call that sort 



work "good enough," better for him 



to keep shy of the T super, which, al- 

 though simplicity iself, requires just a 

 little care in packing. Don't you think 

 so? 



1 have written you a much longer 

 letter than 1 had any idea of doing 

 when I began, but it is S o easy to do 

 that when one is really in earnest. 



Before closing, I wish to tell you that 

 I have often wondered how you per- 

 form tin- operation of slipping the T-tin 

 under the row of sections when you are 

 loading a super. I used to just put 

 down the 3 tins and put the sections 

 between them, which gets to be easy 

 enough after you practice it a while ; 

 but. lately. I kept thinking about this 

 slipping-under scheme which you have 

 so frequently referred to, and so I tried 

 an idea which works well. I wonder 

 if it is the same thing that you have 

 been practicing : 



On a flat board the same size of the 

 super, I nail three little strips nearly 

 as long as the inside width of the 

 super. These strips are spaced so that 

 they will come within 1-4 inch of the 

 staples when the super is placed square- 

 ly on the board. This, when putting in 

 a row of sections, will have the effect 

 ot raising them just high enough on 

 the side where the T-tin belongs to slip 

 it easily under the 6 sections without 

 having to touch them at all with the 

 hand. When all the sections and tins 

 are in, raise the super, and all drop into 

 place, and the whole thing is done. Very 

 simple, only I hadn't thought of it be- 

 fore. I never could understand how 

 you raised 6 sections so as to slip the 

 tin under as quickly and easily as you 

 said you could. 



If you have a better way, I would 

 thank you for the information. 



Of course, I am not expecting a per- 

 sonal reply— but a line under questions 

 and answers in the American Bee Jour- 

 nal will suffice. 



Frank H. Drexel. 



Replying to the question as to the lit- 

 tle strips used to fill in the spaces be- 

 tween the tops of sections, there is no 

 doubt about its being fussy work, even 

 when one has become used to it, re- 

 quring no little strength of fingers. At 

 first I did not use these strips, but while 

 I produced crops that brought top prices, 

 there was a chance for some of the 

 sections to be a little out of square, 

 and the bees did not fail to fill with glue 

 the spaces. So I prefer the fussing with 

 the little sticks with the perfect square- 

 ness of all the sections. 



I think you are a little hard on the 

 manufacturers, Mr. Drexel, for I hardly 

 see what interest the} could have ill 

 sinking the T-super, and yet I must con- 

 fess it is a mystery to me why they 

 have done so. May it not be that they 

 are themselves deceived as to real val- 

 ues? When so intelligent and honest a 

 man as Mr. F. Greiner can be so de- 

 ceived—looking at it from your stand- 

 point and mine— as to pronounce the 

 T-super the worst ever, what can you 

 expect of manufacturers? 



You ask how much less than 10 min- 

 utes it takes me to load a T-super. 

 I have just come from the shop, where 

 I had my assistant fill up a super while 

 I stood by with watch 111 hand. When 



the minute and second hand came to 

 the right place, I called "Go." She 

 placed the first row of sections, put the 

 T-tin under, then the 3 other rows, put 

 in the separators, fussed the little sticks 

 in place on top, put in the follower, then 

 wedged it up with the super-spring, all 

 ready to put on the hive, and when she 

 called "Done," just 1 minute 30 sec- 

 onds had elapsed. 



That doesn't answer your question 

 squarely, for you asked how long it 

 would take me. I don't know ; that's 

 Miss Wilson's work always, and she is 

 no doubt an expert at it. I didn't try 

 it, for I shall no doubt feel just as 

 comfortable not to know how much 

 longer it would take me. From the 

 way her hands flew, I think she did her 

 best. But it is only fair to say that in 

 actual practice there is a chance for a 

 little saving of time over the foregoing, 

 for she never makes a separate job of 

 filling the supers. As fast as she puts 

 the foundation in a section, she places 

 the section in the super, and it takes 

 just a little less time to put the section 

 in the super than it would to set it 

 loosely on a board. 



After I had written the foregoing I 

 noticed that you had timed yourself, 

 and included also the work of putting 

 in the starters. So back we went to 

 the shop, and she did the whole of the 

 work, putting in top and bottom-start- 

 ers, and getting the super ready to put 

 on the hive. That took her 4 minutes 

 17 seconds. Very likely she could keep 

 that up all day, for although she hur- 

 ried you will readily understand that 

 she would not make as rapid work in 

 foundation after not having touched 

 such work for several months as she 

 would after "getting her hand in." 1 

 wonder whether such work as putting 

 in foundation is not better suited to a 

 woman's fingers than a man's, anyway? 

 I'm not sure whether I agree with 

 you that slam-bang people will do better 

 with some other super, but possibly you 

 are right. In any case, I should hardly 

 urge slam-bang people to produce sec- 

 tion honey — or perhaps any other kind. 

 Your arrangement for filling sections 

 in super is practically the same as the 

 super-filler in use here, described in 

 "Forty Years Among the Bees," on 

 page 148, illustrated on page 189. and 

 given to the public years before the 

 book was published. 



I notice that in filling a super you 

 mention putting in the little top sticks- 

 the last thing. If you do the work in 

 that order, I'm pretty sure you'll gain 

 time by putting them in before the fol- 

 lower. Harder to squeeze them in af- 

 ter everything is snug. 



After reading Mr. Drexel's letter, it 

 occurred to me that some might ask. 

 "How competent is the witness? for it 

 makes a difference whether he is a be- 

 ginner with 3 colonies that he has run 

 with T-supers, or has had a hundred 

 of them for several years." So I sent 

 him a card, and received the following 

 reply, after which I submit the case to 

 the jury : 

 Second Letter from Mr Drexel. 



Dear Dr. Miller: — I have your card 

 acknowledging receipt of my letter, and 

 I am indeed glad to know that it has 



