GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Nor. 



ing- the different articles in his exhibit. The first to 

 attract your attention on entering:, was the large 

 monument of solid wax, about 300 lbs., with the 

 name Huber on the base. It was secured by Prof. 

 A. J. Cook, for the government to send to New Or- 

 leans. Next was the great pyramid of extracted 

 honey, in every conceivable shape, in glass, tin, 

 earthenware, and paper, all decorated with fancy 

 labels, a large number of cases of comb honey, and 

 a large collection of apiarian implements. Mr. 

 Hunt received many premiums; his first premium 

 on section box for comb honey was well placed, al- 

 so premium on comb foundation. Mr. Hunt has 

 the science of making foundation well learned; his 

 samples were the finest I ever saw made on a roller 

 mill. 



The Tnarket value of the contents of the building 

 was $3780 5'J. The number of exhibitors is increas- 

 ing every year. One exhibitor from Ohio, who had 

 been at the Ohio State Fair at Columbus, also the 

 Tri-State Fair at Toledo, then to the Michigan State 

 Fair at Kalamazoo, said Michigan beat any thing he 

 ever saw in the way of an exhibition. 



The system of expert judging was tried for the 

 first time in this department, and, as far as known, 

 gave the best of satisfaction. Dr. A. B. Mason, of 

 Wagon Works, Ohio, with his usual good nature, 

 filled the bill to a dot. All the premiums offered 

 in this department were taken, besides a few dis- 

 cretionary ones. Among the many visitors you 

 see the smiling face of Prof. A. J. Cook, and his 

 cheering words of "Grand ! grand ! " went to many 

 hearts present. James Heddon, Thomas Bingham 

 and daughter. Dr. Haskins, Dr. Southard, and many 

 more of the old and new time bee-keepers were 

 present. Itis hoped that at the next State Fair the 

 building will be filled with bees and their products, 

 and all the paraphernalia necessary to carry on one 

 of the growing industries of America. 



Oh, yes! I want to say one more word 

 about the time when friend H. was a " gro- 

 cery loafer." May be that is putting it pret- 

 ty strong, but I think he told me he used to 

 smoke along with the rest of them when 

 they sat around the stove and told stories. 

 I do not believe he ever learned to swear, be- 

 cause he seems to be too much of a gentle- 

 man for that. Now the moral is, dear 

 friends, that when he got busy with the bees 

 he had no desire for any such, any more ; 

 and one of the cheerful things about our 

 calling is that it seems to have the effect of 

 drawing out a man's better feelings. When 

 one really gets the bee fever, or strawberry 

 fever, for that matter, or any of these pas- 

 sions for outdoor work, he loses all taste for 

 lower pleasures. In watching the ways of 

 animal and vegetable growth, he seems to be 

 drawing nearer to Nature and Nature's God, 

 and the other is crowded out of the Avay. 

 lie not only wonders how he could have 

 cared for such things, but he feels amazed 

 that he was once among that class, and his 

 wife and family follow him in that feeling. 

 Yes, you may be sure they do, every time. 



FOUNDATION A YEAR OLD OR MORE. 



IS IT ADVISABLE TO USE IT? 



aURING the last few years I have made consid- 

 erable use of foundation, and, as a matter of 

 course, have been somewhat exercised to get 

 the best; that is, that which would be used 

 in the most economic manner by my bees. 

 In experimenting in this direction (and I speak now 

 particularly of brood-comb) I have used fdu. made 

 by various makers, and of various qualities; also 

 various ages. My experiments lead me to the con- 

 clusion that f Jn. with high side-walls, and a very 

 thin base, weighing from .5 to 7 sheets L. size to the 

 pound, are usel most advantageously and economi- 



cally. As various conjectures had been offered in 

 regard to whether old fdn. was as acceptable to the 

 bees as that perfectly fresh, I tested the matter 

 this last summer as thoroughly as possible to be 

 done in a single season. 1 had on hand quite a 

 quantity left over from prior seasons, some of 

 which was nearly four years old. This I used in 

 several hives, side by side with sheets perfectly 

 fresh, and found little if any difference in the time 

 taken to draw it out. I also tested that made with 

 rolls with a small quantity made in a press, and I do 

 not find any superiority whatever in that made on 

 the press, and must conclude that the ideas ad- 

 vanced, that the rolls cause the wax to be much 

 harder than does the press, are matters of theory 

 rather than of real practical experience. And why, 

 if the rolls cause the wax to assume a harder sur- 

 face than the press, should that of itself make any 

 difference in the softness of the wax when exposed 

 to the heat necessary to draw it out? Wax can at 

 no time be any harder or more compact than its 

 composition will allow; and whether the pressor 

 rolls are used, sufficient pressure must be made up- 

 on it to form a thin base to the cells, which are in- 

 dented in the same way, practically, in the one case 

 as in the other. With me I found no difference in re- 

 sults, as I have stated, neither In the question of 

 age nor pi-cssure, and consider that, so far as the im- 

 pression is concerned. It makes no difference 

 whether the press or i-olls are used. In the matter 

 of freshness I prefer, of course, to use that which 

 is new; but there is so little difference in the work- 

 ing cf new and old by the bees, that I should consid- 

 er it very poor economy to do as some writers have 

 suggested ; viz., to melt down and make over all 

 fdn. more than one season old. Wax will harden by 

 exposure to the air, but I have never seen any un- 

 bleached wax yet that would not be made soft 

 enough to work easily at a temperature of from 8.5 

 to%°F. J. E. Pond, Jr. 



Foxboro, Mass., Nov., 1884. 



BEE-KEEPERS' COLLECTIVE EXHIBIT. 



A NOTE FROM OUH FRIEND DR. BESSE. 



AM appointed Assistant Commissioner for Ohio, 

 to represent and arrange the apiarian display 

 at New Orleans. The exhibition will not be 

 large, but I shall aim to have the most instruc- 

 tive articles, such as hives, honej--packages for 

 shipping and in market, and all kinds of apparatus 

 and material used and produced in the apiary. I am 

 given but a small amount for this object, and will 

 therefore have to limit the exhibit to the practically 

 useful. If any bee-keeper or supply-dealer thinks 

 he has that which will be instructive, and is new 

 and peculiar, I shall be glad to hear from him at 

 once. Any article loaned or donated will be ar- 

 ranged in the most^tasteful manner. This will af- 

 ford an excellent opportunity to advertise goods. 

 All articles must be sent to my address at Delaware, 

 O. I will pay the express or freight charges. All 

 desiring to respond to this request, please do so at 

 once, as all articles must be sent to me by Nov. 30, 

 1«84. H. Besse, M. D., 



Assistant Commissioner for Ohio. 



We congratulate you, doctor, on your ap- 

 pointment; and from the experience you 

 have had in such matters, we feel sure the 

 authorities have got hold of the right man 

 for the place. 



