450 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



July 



his defense. I was summoned as an expert to testify to the 

 quality and value of the goods In question. 



The upshot of this was that the case was postponed till a 

 week ago, when an expert lawyer came from Chicago and 

 pleaded the case with the Judge and the City Attorney, and 

 the case was finally dlsmist upon the payment of a fine of ST5 

 and all the costs and expenses accrued, besides satisfying the 

 firm in their damages, and myself for my trip to Keokuk. 



Now, brethren, was not this a good lesson for Mr. Chicago 

 Man ? And can't we keep Mr. Glucose from passing himself 

 for Mr. Honey In the same way that this was done? At any 

 rate, can't we make It hot enough, if we unite on it, for these 

 fine gentlemen who try to get rich by defrauding the con- 

 sumer and the producer, to make them sick of the job ? 



I see, on page 405, that Prof. Cook Is for the action of 

 the Old Union against adulteration. Good. But, gentlemen, 

 why two Unions ? Can't we lay aside all disputes and come 

 together? I belong to both, and am willing to help both, but 

 how much stronger we should be if we stood together as one 

 man ! 



It does not matter what is done. The time has come to 

 stop the frauds, and I say, don't let us wait for more laws, but 

 use the laws we have, and see If we can't scare these unprin- 

 cipled parties out of their nefarious business. I believe that 

 when we go at it, we will find them much less numerousthan 

 we imagine, and as easy to scare out of their swindle as the 

 little robber-bee when she tries to get into the neighboring 

 hive to pilfer what Is not her own. Hancock Co., III. 



Making Bee and Honey Exhibits at Fairs. 



BY .J. C. WALLENMETER. 



I do not believe a more aprropriate place could be found 

 to advertise one's business than a State, county or district fair. 

 The display of bees, honey, wax, and apiarian implements 

 certainly has a very decidedly educational influence on the 

 ever disbelieving and suspecting public, and besides having a 

 teudency to develop our industry, will popularize the con- 

 sumption of our honey by the masses. As yet, our Tri-State 

 Fair Association does not offer enough premiums in the api- 

 cultural department to more than barely cover the expenses 

 of a display, if it be a small one. If a large exhibit is at- 

 tempted, the exhibitor certainly will be out of pocket if he 

 depends upon immediate sales to cover expenses. 



I have no doubt, whatever, that if the directors of any 

 fair grounds are askt to give free spaCe to an apicultural ex- 

 hibitor, to sell honey lemonade, in order to offset the expenses 

 Incurred In making a display of bees and honey, the grant 

 will freely be given. In return for this favor, if you are 

 grateful, you will give free lemonades to all fair-ground 

 officials, judges and superintendents of the various depart- 

 ments, who, you may be sure, will not fall of giving you plenty 

 of free advertising. 



Having secured a large crop of fine comb and extracted 

 honey from the dry-weather honey-vine in the fall of 189-1, 

 and having no establlsht market for a large crop, I decided to 

 make an exhibit. The premiums offered were very small, but 

 I thought I would sell at least the larger portion of my crop. 



GETTING FA,IR VI8ITOR.S INTERESTED. 



Id order to attract attention to my exhibit, I had pie- 

 eating contests and doughnut-eating contests, for boys, and 

 guessing contests for the older persons. Entries were free, 

 and large jars of honey were given for prizes to the lucky per- 

 sons. I must say It was a very amusing sight to see 25 boys 

 of all sizes and ages line up beside a long table, each one 

 ready to demolish a large (12-Inch) red-hot apple-pie (like 

 mother used to make) that lay before him on a tin plate, the 

 very moment the judges gave the signal. To make it more 



interesting, each boy had his hands tied behind him, so that 

 he had to eat from the plate with his mouth ! Of course, each 

 one was confident of coming out first, and as there were five 

 prizes there would be only 20 that would be disappointed. 

 This event was advertised by placards tackt around on the 

 buildings, to take place everyday at 3 p.m. in front of the 

 bee and honey exhibit. So a great crowd congregated to see 

 the sport. Each particular boy had his host of admirers. 



After several false starts occasioned by cries of "Go," 

 "Eat," etc., from the impatient crowd. Judge Curnick suc- 

 ceeded In getting them all off together. They dived into their 

 pies with a will. Then the fun began, and the crowd com- 

 menced to laugh. The pies were hot, but that made no differ- 

 ence. A few small boys hesitated, having burnt their noses. 

 As an inspiration, I put the prize jars of honey on the table. 

 Upon sight of those precious prizes, they immediately re- 

 sumed operations at a winning gait. They rooted into those 

 pies like bogs, some having their nose and eyes all smeared 

 over with pie. At this the crowd roared, and held their sides, 

 some coaching their favorites to do their best. Some never 

 chewed their pie at all — just swallowed it down. 



I remember the first prize winner, particularly. He was 

 a great, long-legged, rawboned, freckle-faced country lad, 

 with red hair. He only weighed 78 pounds, and seemed all 

 stomach from his neck to his knees. But there wasn't any- 

 thing wrong with his appetite. No, indeed. He put it all 

 over our city boys. His first bite was a 4x6 right out of the 

 center. Finding it hot, he gave a convulsive gasp, stretcht 

 his neck, got a hump in his back, rolled his eyes, and down 

 she went, and I should judge from his looks that there was a 

 decidedly uncomfortable feeling in the regiou of his feed-sack. 

 It only took him two seconds to recover, when he did the same 

 thing again to the entire satisfaction of the crowd. They 

 shouted and roared, and held their sides. They could stand it 

 no longer — seams ript, and buttons Hew iu all directions. 



The boys' heads bobbed up and down like a gang of ducks 

 diving in a pond. The country lad got through first, but 

 there was such a mixt up affair of boys, pies and plates, and 

 pie-faces, and some of the boys had their faces so smeared up 

 with "pie" that we could hardly recognize them in order to 

 give them credit for the order in which they fioisht. There 

 were only eight that claimed first prize, and to cap the climax, 

 while we were trying to get at the order in which the first five 

 finisht, the tail-enders walkt off unnoticed in the heat of the 

 discussion with all the prizes. 



In order to satisfy all, I decided to give each participant 

 a jar of honey, when, to my consternation, there were 40 in 

 line. This state of affairs was so unsatisfactory that I discon- 

 tinued giving any more pie-eatimg contests then and forever. 



I believe I got more advertisement from the above contest 

 than a page advertisement in our local paper would have 

 given me. I only mention these items to show how one can 

 attract a crowd, and get them interested in one's exhibit, and, 

 incidentally take their orders for honey, for if you are any 

 kind of a talker at all you will soon learn how to pull orders 

 from people once you get them interested in your exhibit. I 

 have never yet succeeded in selling a pound of honey to any 

 person who was not interested in my exhibit. At these fairs I 

 have developt many regular customers for my honey, among 

 people who never before were consumers of our product. Of 

 course, you must have an exhibit that is an exhibit in every 

 sense of the word. 



Prof. Cook says in his " Manual of the Apiary :" "Till 

 within the past two years our American honey exhibits have 

 been a disgrace and a hindrance, and they are largely so to- 

 day. A little second-rate honey, sandwicht in with sugar and 

 syrups, and supplemented by a cake or two of black, dirty 

 wax, describes the honey exhibits at most of our fairs to-day. 

 The premiums range from 25 to 50 cents. Our industry de- 



