444 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
many years since those of huge proportions were the 
great object of the bee-keeper’s ambition ; but, in spite 
of the handsome appearance of delicate honeycomb in 
a mass weighing, perhaps, loolb., the difficulty of 
getting supers completed without the bees swarming, 
their tenderness (scarcely permitting of their transport 
by the usual means of conveyance), together with their 
unsaleability, have obliged them to give place to small 
boxes of honey, called sections. The complete dis- 
missal of supers from our exhibitions and competitions 
is undesirable, and a disposition to again encourage 
their production is apparent, but our space will only 
permit of a short reference to them. 
Comb-building needs high temperature, and so keep- 
ing a super warm is a primary point, or the bees will 
only very reluctantly enter. Whatever be its material, 
it is highly desirable to securely close all interstices 
between the hive and it, afterwards carefully shelter- 
ing from rain and sunlight. For general beauty of ap- 
pearance, no material can equal glass ; but it requires 
closely covering, both because exposed glass will allow 
heat to be dissipated through it, and the moisture 
rising from the hive will be condensed, so bedewing 
the super within that it will be impossible for the 
bees to attach their wax tracery. A non-conductive 
jacket should be provided, after the fashion of a tea- 
pot cosy. A double thickness of cloth or stuff, with 
wadding between, answers perfectly ; but, lacking 
such good coverings, a couple of brown paper bags, 
one within the other, put down neatly into place, will 
render signal service. Bees often refuse to enter if 
this condition be neglected, but, should they commence 
