768 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Fig. 4. — Ore of the honey displays at the Hartford fair is shown at the rear, in front of which is 

 grouped a collection of competitive colonies. The shelving for the display of honey is of glass. 



exhibitors called special attention to the 

 canned fruit, which in every way rivals 

 fruits canned with sugar. It is to be re- 

 gretted that beekeepers are not making more 

 of this feature of the utilization of their 

 product. 



With the public, the sale booths, where 

 honey-sandwiches are offered, seemed to 

 attract considerable attention. The vender 

 of these luscious sandwiches warns the nov- 

 ice salesman against possible disastrous re- 

 sults through a sudden influx of robber 

 bees. The booths are specially constructed 

 for handling the honey ; being immaculate 

 in appearance, the prospective purchaser is 

 convinced of the cleanliness of his sand- 

 wich. The part of the booth where sand- 

 wiches are prepared is entirely enclosed 

 with netting to prevent the access of " rob- 

 bei-s." The secret of success is, of course, 

 the prevention of the first robber bee from 

 returning to the hive with a load. The 

 sellers of honey-sandwiches elsewhere, to 

 the writer's knowledge, have been forced to 



close up their stands because robbing had 

 gained such headway. Those selling honey 

 at a fair can well remember the remedy for 

 cheeking the approach of robbers. A weak 

 solution of carbolic acid sprinkled about 

 the booth will do much to repel them. 

 Everybody being anxious to " see the 

 queen," one of the calls of the honey-sand- 

 wich man is, "Come and see the cjueen ! " 

 He may have a queen in a mailing-cage or 

 in a nucleus. Attracting his crowd by this 

 means, he then induces them to try some 

 honey. Tactfully, too, he urges the visitors 

 to go among the rest of the displays. In 

 this way many a person who is not familiar 

 with the taste of honey acquires a liking 

 for it. In talking with people around 

 Hartford, the writer had but to mention 

 the bee show when he was asked with en- 

 thusiasm, " Did you have a honey sand- 

 wich?" It is thus evident that the honey- 

 sandwich is a key to the venture. 

 Amherst, Mass. 



