78 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



ually get lost respecting the seasons. But 

 to the point: 



It seems that the same conditions rule 

 you at the fairs as I experienced ten years 

 ago. In arranging my exhibit I had in 

 mind the philanthropic idea of educating 

 the public respecting the habits of the 

 honey bee; also with the selfish motive of 

 finding a market for my honey, and found 

 myself, after a few year's trial, working 

 for premiums and attending fairs where 

 the management gave the highest awards. 

 From an educational point of view, an 

 exhibit at a fail is a failure; not a total 

 failure, for there are a few people in 

 every crowd who can absorb and remem- 

 ber all about interesting exhibits. 



The observatory hive with its queen 

 bee is always a center of attraction; and 

 for the four or five days of the fair our 

 bees, our honey, and our appliances ex- 

 cite as much notice, comment and ques- 

 tioning as any other fine exhibit. 



But now let us follow the crowd and 

 see how the educational feature works. 

 There are, perhaps, 25,000 people on the 

 fair grounds; our exhibit is in the agricul- 

 tural or domestic building with a passage 

 six feet wide on one side of it for the surg- 

 ing crowd; now, out of a crowd of a 

 thousand that march before our exhibit, 

 there are 250 that are doing the fair so 

 fast that they only get a bird's eye view 

 of the entire contents of the hall, and 

 could not the next day, for the life of 

 them, remember a single thing they saw 

 in that building. Then there are about 

 500 who will remember what most inter- 

 ests them; while there may be a score 

 that will go away with more or less of an 

 impression of our hone}' exhibit. About 

 a week after the fair a very few of this 

 score will think enough of the exhibit to 

 hunt up the bee-keeper's card and order 

 a case of honey. There may he a few per- 

 manent customers. 



The dear people are not to blame for 

 not taking hold of the sweets stronger; 

 they atterid the fair to have a good time; 

 and, generally, they have it. There is too 

 nuich to absorb; and, by the time they 



have been through all of the buildings, 

 taken in the cattle show, horse trot, side- 

 shows, and listened to the fakirs, the 

 thousand and one things to be seen and 

 heard the result is a confused idea of what 

 they have seen, outside of some special 

 object in which they are directly interest- 

 ed. Therefore, the premium, if generous, 

 is the best thing to work for at a great or 

 small fair. 



Where the educational effect is desired 

 more can be accomplished in a community 

 through the means recentlj- inaugurated 

 by Mr. Weed and described in a recent 

 issue of Gleanings. When the subject 

 of honey and its production is described 

 to the patrons of a grocer's store, and 

 backed up by a honey leaflet, the educa- 

 tion is permanent. There are a very few 

 grocers, though, who take enough inter- 

 est in the disposal of honey to push the 

 sale as they do some other lines of goods. 

 When it is pushed a larger sale results. 



The selling of honey requires a great 

 amount of talking and even downright 

 argument; prejudice has been excited 

 through what has been written about the 

 adulteration of honey, and there are manj- 

 people who really believe that they have 

 seen and eaten artificial comb honey. 



Another educational factor through 

 which much honey can be sold, both at 

 wholesale and retail, is to have husthng 

 agents on the road to drum up trade. 

 The California Bee Keepers' Exchange 

 has had the service of two such men, by 

 way of experiment, and the result is high- 

 ly satisfactory\ 



If we had enough of the right kind of 

 men, the entire honey crop of California 

 could be disposed of in a few months. It 

 is really pleasing to see movements.inaug- 

 urated that have for their object the prop- 

 er dissemination of our honey. Our 

 methods of production are well nigh per- 

 fection; and now the other end of the 

 equation should be brought up to it; and 

 the latter end can be accomplished better 

 through organization than any other way. 

 Let us work for organization. 



Los Angeles, Calif. Dec. 31, 1S97. 



