248 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



its in other departments of the fair. I 

 have exhibited photo^Taphs in the art 

 department, canned fruit in the fruit 

 department, and tlie wife and children 

 have sent thing's to their respective de- 

 partments. In addition to this, wlien 

 making a "circuit" of the fairs I used 

 to write them up for the Country 

 Gentleman, getting paid for the work. 

 Fairs, come in the fall, after the busy 

 season is over with the bees, and if a 

 man has the time, taste and abilit}^ for 

 this kind of work, going from one 

 State to another, as I have done, he 

 can probabl}' clear $10 a day for five 

 or six weeks in the fall. It is scarce!}' 

 worth while to prepare for tlie work, 

 however, unless there is some expecta- 

 tion of following it for several 3'ears. 



Just a few parting words to the be- 

 ginner: If you make an exhibit at a 

 fair, don't get excited. Keep cool and 

 have patience. Many unpleasant things 

 may occur, but don't worry over them; 

 and, above all, don't let the loss of ex- 

 pected premiums so "sour" you as to 

 spoil your own enjoyment and that of 

 your comrades. When you leave home 



have everything in readiness, as nearly 

 as possible, to put right up. Pack 

 everj'thing carefully, but in such a 

 manner that it can be quickly and 

 easily unpacked. I used to pack the 

 square bottles of honey in boxes fur- 

 nished with partitions of cellular board, 

 a la egg-crate, and, to pack the bottles 

 it w.TS only necessary to drop them 

 into the openings, and nail down the 

 cover. If the package does not indicate 

 its contents, then mark it in some way. 

 Never be compelled to open box after 

 box in an exasperating hunt for some- 

 thing that must be had at once. And 

 when the fair is over, don't "go crazy" 

 to get off the grounds the next minute. 

 I have known of men sitting up all 

 night swearing, and sweating, and 

 fuming, because "their car didn't 

 come, '' or something of that sort, and 

 we all went out on the same train the 

 next'morning. At the close of a large 

 fiiir, an immense amount of goods are 

 on the grounds; they have been several 

 days in accumulating, and it is impos- 

 sible to move them all in an hour's 

 time. 



FINDING QUEENS. 



Some Most Excellent Hints for Doing This 

 Kind of Work. 



Findinga queen in a populous colonj' 

 of blacks or hybrids is a difficult task 

 for a novice, and is often quite a tax 

 upon the skill of a professional bee- 

 keeper. Twice, this season, with a 

 populous colony of hybrids, have I been 

 compelled to give up the job for the 

 time-being. This need not occur very 

 often if the operator understands his 

 business, and the best instructions that 

 I ever saw on the subject come from 



my old friend Doolittle, and appear 

 in the American Bee Journal of July 

 6th. Here is what he says: 



To tind a black or hybrid queen 

 often baffles an expert, to say nothing 

 of the novice. Much care at the be- 

 ginning is the great secret of success. 

 If possible let the work be done be- 

 tween the hours of 10 a. m. and 2 p. m., 

 when the largest number of field-bees 

 are generally out at work, so that the 

 hive is not congested with bees. 



Open the hive slowly witiiout a jar, 

 and use as little smoke as possible. 

 Be very careful not to kill a single bee, 

 for if bees are killed the colony is 

 liable to resent it, this causes so much 

 smoke to be used in quieting them that 

 the whole mass is likely to be 

 "stampeded," under such conditions it 



