The Production of Comb-Honey 307 



fine comb-honey accuracy in the manufacture is far more 

 essential than if it were to be used in extracting. The 

 bee-spaces should be accurate and if self-spacing frames 

 are used care should be exercised that the deposits of prop- 

 olis do not force them out of place. Sectional hives, in 

 which the brood occupies two or more shallow hive-bodies, 

 are preferred by some beekeepers, especially among comb- 

 honey producers. While they have much to commend 

 them, they do not seem to gain in popularity. 



Evolution of the section. 



The early development of the section was suggested in 

 an earlier paragraph. The first ones were made of four 

 pieces of wood and, after the wide adoption of the Lang- 

 stroth frame, sections 4j inches square became in a sense 

 standard, since eight of these sections fit into a Langstroth 

 frame (of special construction, Fig. 134). In 1873, Alexis 

 Fiddes, Centralia, Illinois, made a one-piece section by 

 folding thin strips of wood on a saw-cut at the corner and 

 to him probably belongs the credit of making the first sec- 

 tion of this type. In 1876 he described these in a note in 

 " Gleanings in Bee Culture." In 1876, two firms put such 

 sections on the market but it appears that previously other 

 beekeepers had made them on this plan. In 1883, Jas. 

 Forncrook, Watertown, Wisconsin, claimed a basic patent 

 on these sections and brought suit against A. I. Root, Medina, 

 Ohio, for infringement. A decision of the Circuit Court in 

 1884, upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1888, 

 declared this patent valueless on the ground that originality 

 was not substantiated. Fiddes is credited with first making 

 such sections. Following this decision, the manufacture 

 of one-piece sections became general and they practically 

 replaced the four-piece sections, except in certain limited 

 localities where they are still used. They are now made 

 with a V-shaped groove which folds more easily and is 

 stronger than the former method of cutting. Basswood is 

 used in making these. 



