MAY 15. 1915 



40^ 



which kind of extractor or capping-melter 

 is best a(la{>tc'd to the needs of different 

 chisses of beekeepers. 



On the same side of the building with the 

 demonstration of extracting- honey were the 

 disphiys of three different bee-supply deal- 

 ers who are allowed space for display of 

 their goods at a very small charge. On the 

 same side, also, was a glass observation hive 

 with both sides of all eight frames exposed 

 to view, covered with live bees which had 

 free access to outdoors through a hole in 

 the wall. Right near this were specimens 

 of Minnesota honey-bearing plants, pressed 

 and dried, and put into individual frames, 

 with its name below each plant. 



In front of the main entrance to the 

 Apiary Building there is a little park in 

 the shape of a triangle with a nice well-kept 

 lawn trimmed with liowers. In the center 

 of this spot there was an octagon-shaped 

 screen cage, about eight feet in diameter, in 

 which there was a sort of vaudeville perfor- 

 mance with live bees. This proved very 

 interesting to the public, and attracted peo- 

 ple on all sides, who, after being entertain- 

 ed with the live bees outdoors, would be 

 induced to go inside and see the other at- 

 tractions inside of the building. Our main 

 trouble was that our building was too small 

 to accommodate the crowd who wanted to 

 get in. 



Around different parts of the fairgrounds 

 we had twenty-two colonies of live bees fly- 

 ing at will right among the people. Strange 

 as it may seem to many beekeepers, nobody 

 seemed to be afraid of the bees. Little 

 children were playing in front of the hive 



entrances, letting the bees crawl over their 

 hands, and tliinking it great fun. I did not 

 hear of anybody getting stung, and I was 

 around every day and all the time. 



I don't believe there is a better way to 

 advertise honey. No doubt it was worth 

 thousands of dollars, and it didn't cost the 

 beekeepers one cent. Beekeepers ought to 

 take more interest in their State Fair exhib- 

 its. That is where people come to look and 

 learn. Tliey are not in a hurry; and if you 

 will present something inieresting there is 

 no trouble in getting an audience all the 

 time. If beekeepers will all help to adver- 

 tise honey this way, there will be such a 

 demand for honey that the price will be 

 considerably advanced. 



It is estimated by conservative people 

 that Minnesota now produces about 2,000,- 

 000 pouzuls of honey animally. Most of 

 this is consumed by the farmer beekeepers 

 and their neighbors. Less than half finds its 

 way to the cities. Less than 500,000 pounds 

 of this comes to Minneapolis and St. Paul 

 — not enough to give everybody in these 

 two cities a pound each during the year. 



Beekeepers talk about overstocking the 

 market with honey. No doubt the public is 

 willing to bny all the honey we can produce, 

 even if it were fifty times as much, which 

 would be only enough to give everybody a 

 pound a week. It is true that in this city 

 there is sold three and four times as much 

 western honey as there is Minnesota honey; 

 but I believe the market in all parts of the 

 United States could be developed to con- 

 sume all the honey we are able to produce. 



Minneapolis, Minn. 



BEES AND BERRIES; BEES TROUBLESOME AT STKAWBERRY-PICK- 



ING TIME 



BY JEAN WHITE 



There seems to be quite a difference of 

 opinion as to whether bees damage fruit or 

 not. I keep bees and raise small fruit, and 

 I am quite sure that I should not care to 

 raise some kinds of fruit in the vicinity of 

 a large apiary. A small beeyard and a 

 small-fruit plot would show practically the 

 same results. The bees do not harm the 

 fruit until it becomes fully ripe and sweet. 

 At this stage they are able to suck the juice 

 from the berry, and do so. My strawberries, 

 red, black, and purple raspberries, all show- 

 ed this plainly. Every fruit that was over- 

 ripe was sucked as dry as if evaporated for 

 market. In picking, it required the utmost 

 care to avoid picking a bee, as some berries 

 would have two, three, and sometimes four 



bees upon it. As I raised fruit before 

 raising bees I noted the dry berries quickly, 

 never having seen any until tlie bees worked 

 upon them. 



I am of the decided opinion, notwith- 

 standing the so-called proof that bees do 

 not puncture fruit, that in the case of thin- 

 skinned fruits of considerable sweetness 

 when ripe, they do break the skin to get the 

 fruit sugar. Bees that can and will eat a 

 way through a paper or cloth placed be- 

 tween them and liberty, or between them 

 and honey or some substance that they par- 

 ticularly desire to get at, can, if they so 

 desire, easily puncture the skin of the ordi- 

 nary raspberry. Birds may and do break a 

 good many; but as the raspbeiry or black- 



