960 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



look at; and to help answer that part of the prayer 

 which says, " Lead us not into temptation," it was 

 unanimously "resolved" to have you send us some 

 wire poultry netting, which was on hand the next 

 evening after it was ordered. During that evening 

 and the next morning, before the visitors began to 

 arrive, the netting, which was four feet wide, with 

 two-inch mesh, was put in place the whole length of 

 the side platforms, and on the front edges of them, 

 a portion of which may be seen in the foreground, 

 fastened to a post which was four feet high, two 

 inches square, and braced at the bottom. 



In all my experience at fairs, no one thing, unless 

 it was the premiums, ever furnished me so much 

 "solid comfort" as did that poultry netting, which 

 you so iiindly furnished us. 



About the first thing that attracts the attention in 

 the picture is the large sign, "Exhibited by A. I. 

 Root," that hangs from one of the cross-beams of 

 the building, and it would at once convey the idea 

 that all shown in the picture was exhibited by you. 

 Such is not the case. Although you had a carload 

 of supplies on exhibition, and nearly the whole car- 

 load, except the machinery for making sections and 

 the blocks from which the sections were made, was 

 on exhibition in the space covered by the picture, 

 still only such as is on or around the table, and to 

 the right and left of it, belongs to your exhibit. Of 

 course, what is beyond the table can not be seen. 

 What is on the shelves and floor in the back of the 

 picture belonged to other exhibitors. 



The first thing in front and at the right is one of 

 your tin-covered comb-carriers, one handle, or bail, 

 of which can be seen lying over on the one-story 

 Simplicity hive at the left. The hive has a division- 

 board in it, and the enamel-cloth covering for the 

 frames lies over it. To the left of the hive is a 

 dipping-can with two dipping-boards for sheeting 

 wax for making foundation. Between the hive and 

 can may be seen a portion of an iron form in which 

 the Simplicity hives are nailed, to keep them square 

 while nailing. The next to the left is a large uncap- 

 ping-can, and then three different-sized "Novice" 

 honey-extractors. These and the other honey-ex- 

 tractors in other parts of the building attracted a 

 great deal of attention, and were the cause of very 

 many strange and amusing expressions, which are 

 familiar to exhibitors. 



Honey-extractors at fairs and expositions furnish 

 a starting-point for explaining to visitors what ex- 

 tracted honey is, and how obtained, and are really 

 as important in a display of extracted honey as the 

 honey itself. If it is desired to have people fully un- 

 derstand what extracted honey is. 



To the left of the extractors stands one of your 

 wheelbarrows. It is not the one Dr. Miller is sit- 

 ting in, though, for he and the table hide that one. 

 Between him and the wheelbarrow, and leaning 

 against the table, is what looks like a stick, but is 

 in reality one of your tin force-pumps, or sprinklers. 

 It may seem that such a machine would be of no 

 special use at such an exhibition; but I can assure 

 you that your Mr. Will Weed frequently made it do 

 splendid service in sprinkling the tan-bark in the 

 passageways, and in keeping down the dust. Oc- 

 casionally your Mr. Art Pulsifer, who had charge of 

 the section-making and machinery, would "lend a 

 helping hand " in the sprinkling business. 



On the left end of the table, with the back "toward 

 us, stands a Sturwold show-case in which was ex- 

 hibited a variety of bee-books, including Cheshire's 



works. Bee- veils, rubber gloves, etc., were hung on 

 nails driven into the back, which, altogether, made 

 a nice showing; but had you filled it with nice comb 

 honey it would have added immensely to its attrac- 

 tiveness. On the back of the case may be seen a 

 small square white spot. It is one of your cards on 

 which your offer of f 1000 is made for comb honey 

 manufactured by machinery, about forty of which 

 were tacked up in conspicuous places in the build- 

 ing. They were the cause of a great deal of talk, 

 bantering, and fun; and several who had "bought 

 machine-made comb honey," as they said, left the 

 building with a vision of $1000 to be so easily obtain- 

 ed by them. Perhaps you have had several applica- 

 tions for it by this time, for we always gave such 

 people one of the cards, and urged them to send 

 you a sample of such honey, with the evidence that 

 it was made by machinery; and we also told them 

 that you were very anxious to find out how it was 

 made, so you could go into the business and supply 

 the world with honey, and get rid of the "pesky 

 bees," bee-lawsuits, etc., and any other nonsense 

 that seemed suitable to the occasion. 



To the right of the Sturwold case is a pyramid of 

 all kinds and sizes of glass honey cans, jars, pails, 

 and tumblers, with a different kind of honey-label 

 on each. On this side of the pyramid, near the edge 

 of the table, is a "World type-writer" that did excel- 

 lent service when any of us had writing to do; and if 

 we wanted to get a small crowd on short notice, all we 

 had to do was to take the " World " and commence 

 writing, or, rather, printing, with it. The next to 

 the right is a feather duster, I believe, but am not 

 fcure. To the right of the duster is one of your $3.50 

 244-pound platform scales, with the scoop nearly 

 full of tin corners for frames. Just beyond this, a 

 little only of which can be seen, is one of your 

 Family Favorite scales. These scales were occasion- 

 ally tried and compared by bee-keepers and others 

 to whom the " Favorite," with the screw for taking 

 off tare, was a novelty. 



The highest of all on the table are four of your 

 foundation-mills— a six-inch, a ten-inch, a twelve- 

 inch, and a foiirteen-inch. Some of the visitors 

 were so fond of pointing at these with canes, para- 

 sols, and umbrellas, that they had to be placed be- 

 yond reach to keep them from being injured; and, 

 in addition to that, labeled, " Hands off I" Sheets of 

 foundation may be seen lying under each of the 

 mills, and the foundation was shown hundreds of 

 times to visitors to illustrate what the mills and 

 foundation were for. 



At the right of the mills, on the end of the table, 

 is a nice book-case, loaded with queen-cages, etc. 

 Sticking up from the back of the book-case is a 

 stick on which it looks as if there were a board. 

 Well, yes; it is a board, a pasteboard, on which is 

 nicely printed, "Exhibited by A. I. Root, Medina, 

 Ohio." Another one can be seen on the side of the 

 box on which the fourteen-inch mill stands, and 

 part of another shows under the twelve-incli mill, 

 and partially behind a Clark smoker, a row of which 

 is on the table, and different kinds of honey-knives 

 can be seen between them. 



At the right of the table, on the platform, beyond 

 the comb-carrier, are Simplicit.v and Langstroth 

 hives in all kinds of shapes and combinations as 

 they would be left in after having been pulled to 

 pieces to show them, just as a dry-goods clerk will 

 leave things when he or she is showing them to 

 ladlesi?) who make a business of shopping to "see 



