The Production of Comb-Honey 
307 
fine comb-honey accuracy in the manufacture is far more 
essential than if it were to be used in extracting. The 
bee-spaces should be accurate and if self-spacing frames 
are used care should be exercised that the deposits of prop¬ 
olis do not force them out of place. Sectional hives, in 
which the brood occupies two or more shallow hive-bodies, 
are preferred by some beekeepers, especially among comb- 
honey producers. While they have much to commend 
them, they do not seem to gain in popularity. 
Evolution of the section. 
The early development of the section was suggested in 
an earlier paragraph. The first ones were made of four 
pieces of wood and, after the wide adoption of the Lang- 
stroth frame, sections 4| inches square became in a sense 
standard, since eight of these sections fit into a Langstroth 
frame (of special construction, Fig. 134). In 1873, Alexis 
Fiddes, Centralia, Illinois, made a one-piece section by 
folding thin strips of wood on a saw-cut at the corner and 
to him probably belongs the credit of making the first sec¬ 
tion of this type. In 1876 he described these in a note in 
“ Gleanings in Bee Culture.” In 1876, two firms put such 
sections on the market but it appears that previously other 
beekeepers had made them on this plan. In 1883, Jas. 
Forncrook, Watertown, Wisconsin, claimed a basic patent 
on these sections and brought suit against A. I. Root, Medina, 
Ohio, for infringement. A decision of the Circuit Court in 
1884, upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1888, 
declared this patent valueless on the ground that originality 
was not substantiated. Fiddes is credited with first making 
such sections. Following this decision, the manufacture 
of one-piece sections became general and they practically 
replaced the four-piece sections, except in certain limited 
localities where they are still used. They are now made 
with a V-shaped groove which folds more easily and is 
stronger than the former method of tutting. Basswood is 
used in making these. 
