FRAMES AND SECTIONS 39 



should be /put back into the racks which should 

 be ready for their reception, and wedged up to 

 keep all square, This is most necessary, as other- 

 wise a lot of labour and foundation will probably 

 be wasted. Empty section-boxes cannot be kept 

 true unless they are properly squared up in the 

 racks. After the bees have filled them with honey 

 the case is different, as all the joints are then 

 immovably fixed. 

 > Finally, I would impress upon the novice the 

 need for the utmost care and accuracy in this task 

 of preparing frames and sections for the use of the 

 bees. If this work is not well and efficiently per- 

 formed, the work which follows afterwards will be 

 equally bad. Combs will be twisted, or fall from 

 their frames, while sections will be out of truth 

 when filled, and eventually it will not be possible 

 to glaze them. The blocks and dies must be 

 accurately made and carefully used. If thin super 

 foundation is " nipped " in the slightest degree, it 

 will "buckle," or bulge in the centre, and a bad 

 section is the result. 



A frame is now being sold with a half-inch 

 top-bar, and it has much to commend it. The 

 ordinary bar, especially if it be split, is much too 

 prone to sag under the weight of a heavy comb. 

 This increases the space over the top-bars, with 

 an additional amount of brace-comb, and other 

 minor evils. 



