210 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



though Mr. C. has had some experience 

 with bees he did not seem to under- 

 stand what was meant by an observatory 

 hive, and so we lost ten dollars ; the pre- 

 mium being given to a man who exhib- 

 ited bees in glass-hives in which nothing 

 but a few bees and old, black, dry combs 

 could be seen. The combs next the 

 glass were very dark and did not con- 

 tain one cell of honey, and not the least 

 skill was exhibited in the matter at all. 

 No one who values his reputation as a 

 skilful beekeeper would ever make such 

 a sorry-looking display as a sample of 

 his beekeeping qualities. 



I need not say that I think those fel- 

 lows do not read any bee- paper. Now, 

 I contend that such a display of bees 

 and honey is a disgrace to the beekeep- 

 ing fraternity and never should have been 

 rewarded with anything but good advice 

 to " go home and try to do better next 

 time." I also contend that it requires 

 considerable experience and skill to ar- 

 range an observatory hive that will be a 

 worthy one and a credit to the exhibitor. 

 In the above case it was the opinion of 

 the judge that it was inexperience and 

 unskilfulness that were entitled to be re- 

 warded. 



Here is another point to which I want 

 to call the attention of those who intend 

 to exhibit apiarian products at fairs. You 

 will notice that five dollars was offered 

 for the best extracted honey " with qual- 

 ity and style of package to be consid- 

 ered." Thinking I would be the only 

 one up with the times if I only had 

 some of Mr. Charles F. Muth & Son's 

 half-pound bottles in which to exhibit my 

 extracted, I sent to Cincinnati, and soon 

 received some nice ones and filled them 

 with as fine, white clover honey as was 

 ever stored in combs. All who spoke 

 of it said it was the best display in that 

 line, and many old experts saw it, too. 

 Yet the first prize was awarded to a lot 

 of honey in pint fruit jars. The judge 

 remarked that the only difference be- 

 tween that and mine was that the honey 

 in pint jars was a " little thicker " than 

 mine. Notwithstanding that fact, the 

 second prize was awarded a lot of dark 



honey in quart Mason fruit jars. How 

 was that for judgment? 



Well, friends, I will now tell you how 

 to manage things in order to get all the 

 big prizes at a fair. It is this — take 

 your worst looking hive of bees, and put 

 your extracted honey in large, homely 

 fruit jars, and you will come off first 

 best. I did, as you see. This is the 

 way that premiums are awarded at fairs 

 in the east. 



The weather for September. 



The following extract, taken from the 

 weather report of the New England Me- 

 teorological Society, will give some idea 

 of the kmd of weather New Englanders 

 have had to endure since the last of Au- 

 gust. We have had an unusual number 

 of heavy storms and a low temperature 

 has prevailed all the time. 



The month of September was in New 

 England a very remarkable one, so far 

 as its weather conditions were con- 

 cerned. It has been many, many years 

 since there was a September that could 

 be at all compared with it. The rainfall 

 was tremendous, showing very great de- 

 partures from the averages established 

 at stations where observations had been 

 taken for upward of one hundred years, 

 and in one case an even longer period. 



Book Ifotices. 

 A copy of the 15th edition of "Cook's 

 Manual" has been received. I neednotsay 

 one word in its praise, as the wi^k com- 

 mends itself. Such a book should be in 

 the iiands of all beekeepers. Jt is worth 

 a hundred times its cost to anyone who 

 keep bees. 



"TiiK iiONKY bkk" is the title of a 26- 

 pajje price-list sent out by Eev. E. T. Ab- 

 bott, of St. Joseph, Mo. A good deal of 

 practical information may be obtained 

 from its perusal. 



"Rrproduction of thi? honky bkk" is 

 the subject of a lecture by Prof. G. G. Groff, 

 of Lewisburii. l*a. It is an able produc- 

 tion and very inleresLing. An extractor 

 it may be found iu this issue. 



