This page has been validated.
HIVE, AND HOW TO HANDLE IT
91

them opposite the posts of the fence, one at either endpost, and one at the middle post, else the spring will be of no use. Driving in the sharp end of this spring successfully requires a little practice. The super is now ready to be filled. (Plate XII.)

First place a fence in the super on the side opposite the spring; then a section-holder filled with four starters, always remembering that these foundation-starters should be at the top of the section. Then place another fence and another section-holder. The eight-frame super will hold six of these rows, with fences between and one on each side. Putting in the last fence is the final test of whether the springs are in the right place, for, if they are right and press against the posts of the fence, it will be very hard to push in this last fence; when it is in, the sections are all held snugly in place. (Plates III, XV.)

Where the super is placed on the hive, it should closely fit the top of the brood-chamber, with no cracks between. If the hive has a flat cover, which leaves only a bee-space above the sections, the cover may be placed immediately above the super, with nothing between. With covers like the telescope cover, a super-cover is needed. This may be a quilt or a piece of enamelled cloth; but we prefer a super-cover made of a thin board, bound on the ends to prevent warping, which is now on the market.

HOW TO HANDLE THE BEES

It is generally believed, and for good reasons, apparently, that bees like some people and despise