1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 





ONE OF THE EXHIBITS OF BEES AT THE GRANGE FAIR IN WILMING- 

 TON, DELAWARE, HELD IN SEPTEMBER, 1908. 

 X card in the hive read, "Bees do not injare sound fruit." 



BEES DO NOT INJURE SOUND FRUIT. 



An Interesting Exhibit at a Fair, Consist- 

 ing of Ripe Fruit in a Glass Hive Con- 

 taining Bees. 



BV JOEL GILFILLAN. 



At the Grangers' fair, held this year in Wil- 

 mington, Del., I had charge again of the bee de- 

 partment. Besides the exhibit of honey (comb 

 and extracted) and wax, I had a series of observa- 

 tory hives exhibiting the various conditions and 

 workings of the bees from the time a swarm was 

 first hived until the harvest of honey was taken 

 off. These were similar to the ones of the pre- 



103 



ceding year, the illustra- 

 tions of which were pub- 

 lished in the Nov. 1st 

 issue, 1907. There was 

 one hive of a different 

 character, which created 

 something of a sensation. 

 This one is shown by the 

 accompanying engrav- 

 ing. It was a three-story 

 glass hive, the upper sto- 

 ry containing ripe fruit, a 

 bunch of grapes, a pear, 

 and a peach. At the time 

 the picture was taken it 

 was a little cold, and the 

 bees were clustering on 

 the combs; but nearly all 

 the time during the four 

 days of the fair the bees 

 were freely moving about 

 among and over the fruit. 

 There was a card on the 

 hive, upon which was 

 written, "Bees do not in- 

 jure sound fruit." On 

 the second day of the fair 

 one of the grapes on the 

 bunch burst open, and 

 the bees set to work and 

 soon cleaned it up, and 

 that empty grape skin 

 hung there among the 

 sound grapes during the 

 remaining days of the 

 fair, speaking louder 

 than any voice. Men 

 would stop before this 

 exhibit and ponder a 

 long time, and then turn 

 away with the remark, 

 "Well, that settles the 

 question." Sometimes a 

 few would rush past with- 

 out taking time to read 

 the card, and say as they 

 passed, "There, that 

 shows how the bees get 

 honey from fruit." One 

 very wise fellow, who 

 was leading a company 

 around, and who was 

 quick to read the cards 

 on the hives, and who 

 tried to be very wise, be- 

 gan describing this one 

 before he reached it, saying, " Now here we 

 have a clear demonstration of how the bees make 

 honey from fruit." By this time he had read 

 the card, and he merely said, "Oh!" and con- 

 cluded it was time to pass on to other depart- 

 ments of the fair. 



Mr. Danzenbaker, inventor of the hive and 

 smoker of that name, spent considerable time 

 with me during the fair, and gave me very valu- 

 able assistance. Many people were anxious to 

 see the queen, and it required some one nearly 

 all the time, and sometimes several to point out 

 a queen in some one of the hives. And then 

 there were many questions to be answered, and 

 Mr. Danzenbaker did excellent service in that 



