EXIIIEITS OF HONEY. 



193 



EXHIBITS OF HONEY 



Bee-keepers, l)esi(les educating tlie gener- 

 al public as to the genuineness of their prod- 

 uct, can create a larger demand for honey. 

 As a usiial thing, exhibitors are allowed to 

 sell their honey, distribute circulars, and do 

 a great deal of profitable advertising. This 

 not only helps the individual, but helps the 

 pursuit in general. 



The i)receding engravings will give an 

 idea of how a model exhibit should be ar- 

 ranged. 



There should be shelving arranged in the 

 form of pyramids, octagons, semicircles, etc. 

 Tlie honey sliould be put up in tin and 

 glass, in large and small packages, and the 

 whole should be neatly " set oft; '' with ap- 

 propriate labels. As a general thing, glass 

 packages should have a very small label, so 

 that as nuich of the liquid honey as possible 

 will show. Tin receptacles should have 

 labels to go clear around the can. Comb 

 honey should be put up in cartons and ship- 

 ping-cases ; and yellow cakes of wax should 

 be shown in a variety of shapes. 



In one of the illustrations will be seen a 

 large pyramid of beeswax, supporting on its 

 several shelves packages of honey, the whole 

 surmounted by the bust of a goddess. Make 

 a series of square shallow boxes of such 

 varied sizes that,when piled one on top of an- 

 other, they form a perfect pyramid. These 

 are to be completely covered with sheet wax 

 Iiaving the edges that come in contact nicely 

 cemented together with a hot iron. The 

 next thing to make is the goddess of liberty, 

 or the bust of a prominent man. These in 

 plaster can usually be purchased at any of 

 the stores for a small sum of money, and, 

 after being dipped in hot wax, give a very 

 line wax figure. 



A correspondent has suggested dipping a 

 teddy bear in melted wax. It might muss 

 up his fur a little, but he ought to look like 

 a bear; and as this animal is known to be a 

 connoisseur of good honey, his presence 

 surmounting the pyramid would be very ap- 

 propriate. 



The bust of a woman on top of the pyra- 

 mid, shown in the illustration, was made of 

 plaster, and came with a box of soap. It 

 struck the exhibitor that this would make a 

 tine wax bust; and, as you will note, it 

 shows up well. 



Besides the exhibit of honey hi various 

 styles of packages, there should be a mod- 

 erate collection of bee - supplies, so that, 

 when the eager public come along with 

 their string of questions, they can be shown 

 step by step the process of producing honey, 

 7 



and its tinal putting-up for market. A good 

 many questions will l)e asked in regard to 

 the extractor. It will be called a churn, a 

 washing-machine, and every thing else ex- 

 cept what it really is. And last, but not 

 least imi)ortant, there should be one en- more 

 observatory hives to show folks Ik w 1 ees 

 behave when at home. A good many will 

 want to see the " king-bee.'' Tell them it is 

 not a king but the queen that reigns. 



Very much can be done by having a glat s 

 hive and live bees, with an entrance com- 

 municating outdoors through the sides of 

 the building where the exhibit is made. 

 What is equally good, or perhaps better, is 

 a one-frame nucleus having glass sides, mak- 

 ing, as we call it, an observatory hive. This 

 should contain one frame of nice healthy 

 brood, regular and perfect comb, finely 

 marked bees, and a bright-yellow queen. 

 Hundreds of people will stop and examine, 

 and ask a variety of questions about the 

 bees and the queen. By this means one can 

 convey to the consumer some knowledge of 

 the habits of bees, and how honey is pro- 

 duced, thus indirectly creating a demand. 



It should be stated in this connection that 

 bees in an observatory hive will stand con- 

 finement for two or three days or even a 

 week. Ordinarily at fairs and other places, 

 where the show lasts only two or three days, 

 the confined bees will do very well. But at 



exi)ositi<ais, where they are shown week aft- 

 er week, it is absolutely necessary to give 

 them a flight every two or three days. Some 

 arrangement should lie made with the man- 

 agement by which these glass hives may be 

 placed next to the wall of the building, the 

 entrance communicating with a hole through 

 the building. 



The usual plan is to have two or three ob- 

 servatory hives, and keep one or two on ex- 

 hil)ition all the time while the other is being 



