ADVANCED BEE CULTURE. 41 



^=%;\OR making sections, basswood is used to a greater extent 

 =^ than any other wood. It is the whitest, readily obtainable 

 in many parts of the country, while it possesses the elas- 

 ticity needed in the one-piece section. Its faults are that it 

 shrinks and swells badly, becomes mildewed and discolored very 

 easily, and any honey dropped upon it soaks in and leaves a stain. 

 White poplar is the best wood for sections. It is whiter than bass- 

 wood, very hard, does riot shrink or swell readily, and is not stained 

 by contact with honey, or easily soiled by handling; but it lacks the 

 elasticity necessary in the one-piece section. There are no hand- 

 somer nor better sections made than the four-piece, white poplar, 

 and the only valid objections that can be brought against them are 

 that they cost more and that more time is required in putting them 

 together. I am aware that I am always pleading for time-saving 

 fixtures, but there must be a distinction made between the hurry 

 and bustle of swarming-time and the leisure of a winter's evening; 

 or between the time of an experienced apiarist and that of some boy 

 or girl who can put together sections. The objections to the one- 

 piece sections are that they can not be made of the most desirable 

 wood; that, as usually made, they do not remain square wh'en folded; 

 and that they are made with "naughty" corners which gouge into 

 the honey when crating it or removing it from the crate. When 

 separators are used, the latter objection is removed. The reason 

 why the so-called "naughty" corner is always found upon the one- 

 piece, bee-way section is because the openings in the top and bottom 

 bars can not be cut clear through to the side bars, as the small film 



