HIVE, AND HOW TO HANDLE IT 89 



a single piece, which is dovetailed at the ends and 

 has three transverse V-shaped grooves cut in one 

 side so that it can be bent into shape, as shown in 

 Plate II. These flat basswood sections afford very 

 pretty material with which to work. The novice, 

 in putting them together, almost always bends them 

 with grooves outside at the corners, instead of 

 inside, and then wonders why they are askew, and 

 break. We wet the sections where they are grooved 

 before we begin working with them. This may be 

 done by brushing each individual flat with warm 

 water, which is a very tedious process ; but it is better 

 to take a handful of them as they lie, the grooves 

 all in a line, set them on edge and pour a little water 

 from a pitcher on the grooves. This wets many at a 

 time with little trouble. To set up a section, it 

 should be taken in the hands, grooves up, bend the 

 ends upward evenly, fastening the dovetailed edges 

 together gently. Haste and jerkiness are as disas- 

 trous in handling sections as in handling bees. 



The foundation for the comb-sections is much 

 lighter in weight than that intended for the brood- 

 frames. Some apiarists fill the entire section with 

 this foundation, except for the bee-spaces at the bot- 

 tom and at the sides. But we never do this, unless 

 we are obliged to do it to coax the bees to use the 

 supers; for it is not so satisfactory as to use a narrow 

 strip for a guide at the top of the section, as a starter 

 to show the bees where to build the comb. We cut 

 these strips about an inch deep and almost as wide 

 as the section, and, with the Daisy fastener, fix each 



