Page:How to Keep Bees.djvu/117

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HIVE, AND HOW TO HANDLE IT
87

are spread apart alternately so that they pass astride the wire and press it down into the foundation; to do this successfully, the foundation should be warm; working near a lamp or in a warm room will suffice. Embedding the wires by heating them with electricity instead of using the spur-embedder is a common practice in large apiaries where electricity is available, or where it pays to buy a battery with proper attachments. This outfit with the dry cells costs about five dollars, and is a paying investment when the apiary is large. (Plate III.)

THE SUPER

The super is that part of the hive that is placed above the brood-chamber and is designed to receive the surplus honey, either comb or extracted. When extracted honey is produced the super may resemble the brood-chamber described above, or it may not be so high, fitted to receive a frame little more than half as deep as the standard Langstroth frame used in the brood-chamber.

When comb-honey is produced, the super is only about half as high as the brood-chamber. For this reason a hive consisting of a brood-chamber and one super for comb-honey is termed a one-and-a-half-story hive. (Plate XV.)

A complete super fitted for comb-honey consists of the following parts: (1) The outer wall, which is of the same length and width as the brood-chamber and of the right height to hold the style of section-boxes used; on the lower side of each end a