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HIVE, AND HOW TO HANDLE IT
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a single piece, which is dovetailed at the ends and has three transverse V-shaped grooves cut in one side so that it can be bent into shape, as shown in Plate II. These flat basswood sections afford very pretty material with which to work. The novice, in putting them together, almost always bends them with grooves outside at the corners, instead of inside, and then wonders why they are askew, and break. We wet the sections where they are grooved before we begin working with them. This may be done by brushing each individual flat with warm water, which is a very tedious process; but it is better to take a handful of them as they lie, the grooves all in a line, set them on edge and pour a little water from a pitcher on the grooves. This wets many at a time with little trouble. To set up a section, it should be taken in the hands, grooves up, bend the ends upward evenly, fastening the dovetailed edges together gently. Haste and jerkiness are as disastrous in handling sections as in handling bees.

The foundation for the comb-sections is much lighter in weight than that intended for the brood-frames. Some apiarists fill the entire section with this foundation, except for the bee-spaces at the bottom and at the sides. But we never do this, unless we are obliged to do it to coax the bees to use the supers; for it is not so satisfactory as to use a narrow strip for a guide at the top of the section, as a starter to show the bees where to build the comb. We cut these strips about an inch deep and almost as wide as the section, and, with the Daisy fastener, fix each