36 
A YEAR AMONG THE BEES. 
best he can take out 960 sections per hour. Moreover, I have 
some doubt if there is any surplus-case used from which the 
sections are more easily and rapidly taken than from these 
same wide frames ; but I may be very widely mistaken in 
this, for I have not seen all the kinds. I will now see if I 
can describe the arrangement used, which is as follows : 
Take a super, such as hold the wide frames, and saw it 
into two parts, so that one part shall hold two wide frames, 
and have % or % of an inch space left; in other words, saw 
off 4}£ to inches of the inside width of the super. Nail a 
bottom on it. Turn the open side of this box toward you, 
and hang a wide frame in it, on the side toward you, as close 
to the outside as you can without actually having any part of 
the wide frame outside the box. Now nail stops in the 
rabbets tight against the ends of the top-bars, and also nail 
stops against the lower ends of the side or end pieces of the 
frame. These stops are to hold the frame securely in its 
place, when you push against it to push the sections out. 
It is also better to nail in little wedge-shaped pieces, to 
prevent the play of the lower part of the frame endwise. 
Nail upon the bottom a piece the whole length, about two 
inches wide, and of such thickness that when the sections 
are pushed out of the frame, they will have but a very little 
distance to drop upon this piece. Cushion the back for the 
sections to strike against. 
Now for a push-stick : Take a stick of hard wood (pine 
wears out too soon) about 9 inches long and % of an inch 
square. At one end cut a shoulder, clear around, 34 of an 
inch deep, leaving the end of the stick >4 of an inch square 
and about 34 of an inch long before reaching the shoulder ; 
whittle away the other end of the stick somewhat tapering, 
so that about 2 inches of the end shall be not more than 34 of 
an inch thick. Place the box upon the table or bench where 
you are to operate, having the top tip back 2 or 3 inches more 
than the bottom, by means of boards nailed under the front 
edge. It should be very solid. A good plan is to have the 
table or bench stand against the wall, then the box can rest 
