884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1. 



t- *^^ BY ^ ^ 



. e.R. ROOT 



Coi<D weather came on over the country gen- 

 erally much sooner than was expected. I 

 wonder how many had their bees all in winter 

 quarters. 



There has been so much inquiry regarding 

 fences for 1899 that I have decided to have a 

 port of symposium on that subject in our next 

 issue. This will give various constructions, 

 together with suggestions and criticisms. 



THOSE WORDS ABOUT WORDS. 



I HAVE just received a letter from a promi- 

 nent and influential bee-keeper, referring to 

 the discussions regarding the use of words. 

 The writer gives it as his opinion that this 

 matter has gone about as far as it is profitable, 

 and that if it continues much longer it is lia- 

 ble to degenerate into dispute and personali- 

 ties. I believe my friend is right. It is some- 

 what a question with me whether any good has 

 been accomplished ; at all events it is safe 

 to say that there would be nothing gained by 

 a further continuance of the discussion, for 

 bee-journals are published primarily for the 

 instruction they give on bees. So far as I am 

 concerned the other fellows can have the last 

 word. 



THE APICULTURAI. EXHIBIT AT THE RHODE 



ISLAND STATE FAIR; DIFFICULTIES 



IN JUDGING EXHIBITS. 



I HAVE just received a letter from my friend 

 A. E. Potter, Edgewood, Pawtuxet, R. I., in- 

 quiring why I had not written up my visit of 

 a year ago to Providence, and more especially 

 that part of it spent at the Rhode Island 

 State Fair, and at the Rhode Island Bee-keep- 

 ers' Educational Society. I fully intended to 

 do so, but as the time went on I overlooked it 

 till the letter above arrived. 



In the summer of 1897 I received a very 

 pressing invitation from Mr. Potter, who is one 

 of the active and influential bee-keepers of 

 Providence, to attend the Rhode Island State 

 Fair. He also stated that it was the desire of 

 the management that I act as judge of the 

 apicultural exhibits. As I was expecting to 

 make a trip east I saw no reason why I could 

 not accept the invitation. And to be a Judge, 

 that would be delightful Accordingly, at the 

 appointed time I reported for duty. After re- 

 ceiving my credentials I undertook the job 

 with pleasant anticipations ; but, unfortunate- 

 ly for the judge, the exhibits were of nearly 

 equal merit, and I realized as never before 

 the difficulty of apportioning first and second 

 premium among one's friends, although 

 friendship should not and did not in this case 

 influence the decisions. I remember particu- 

 larly that there were two exhibits of about 

 equal merit, and yet only one could have first. 

 Both of the exhibitors were my particular 

 friends. To give one man the first and the 

 other the second would be an injustice to the 



latter ; and yet, what could I do ? If I could 

 have had two other judges with me, the task 

 would have been more easy. 



To make the situation more complicated, 

 one of the men had ordered from \is one of our 

 best queens to compete for the first premium. 

 I was aware of the fact ; and cen if I had 

 thought our own queen was the best one of 

 the lot, I would have hesitated to give her the 

 first premium under the circumstances. But 

 the wording of the premium-list let me out, as 

 it specified beauty as well as other qualities. 

 As the queen we had sent was imported, and 

 not particularly striking in point of beauty, I 

 gave the palm to a handsome five-bander. 



After I had decided on my firsts and sec- 

 onds by making a schedule of points, I pro- 

 ceeded to the still more delicate task of tying 

 on the premium- cards in the presence of the 

 competitors. Fortunately for me, they all ac- 

 cepted my decisions very kindly ; but I know 

 that, if I had been one of them, and had had 

 an exhibit that I thought was just the equal 

 of the other fellow's, and perhaps a little bet- 

 ter, I should have believed the judge was 

 impartial or unfair. 



How often did I wish for the advice and 

 counsel of that veteran judge, Eugene Secor ! 



After the awarding of premiums we had a 

 little informal convention of bee-keepers in 

 the evening — an association that goes under 

 the euphonious title of the Rhode Island Bee- 

 keepers' Educational Society. It does or did 

 meet once a month, and its members occa- 

 sionally call in some outside bee-keeper to ad- 

 dress the meeting. On this occasion your 

 humble servant was given the question-box — 

 a task I found much easier than judging ex- 

 hibits. 



The bee-keepers of Rhode Island, especially 

 of this association, are a progressive and jolly 

 set of fellows. I shall not soon forget their 

 cordiality. 



Moral : When you are asked to act as a 

 judge of a honey exhibit, and don't know any 

 thing about the business, take my advice — 

 "decline with thanks." 



SELSER'S honey ; CREATING A HOME MAR- 

 KET ; BOTTLING HONEY. 



The latter part of August found me on a 

 train going from Seagirt, N. J., near Asbury 

 Park, to Philadelphia. As the train whirled 

 into the big city — the city of Brotherly Love, 

 so named by Wm. Penn, the city so rich in 

 American history, the city where the old lib- 

 erty bell proclaimed the independence of the 

 United States, and a hundred years later had 

 the Centennial — I fell to wondering whether 

 the political strife then nearing its height 

 would finally end in brotherly love. But 

 politics didn't bother me that morning. I 

 sought No. 10 Vine St., where the Root Co. 

 has an office, and W. A. Selser is its manager. 

 Should I find him in ? Following the direc- 

 tions given me, in a short time I found myself 

 in what seemed to be the busiest part of the 

 city, near the docks, and amid the burly bustle 

 of crowd and dray. Yes, there was No. 10, 

 and, stepping inside, I asked for Mr. Selser. 

 " He is in, sir." I was directed to go up that 



