SEPTEMBER 15, 191G 



867 



Johnstown, N. Y., most painstakingly show- 

 ed Bie how hr did it. Makes a grab for any 

 bee that is hiking across the comb, and, with 

 forefinger down and tliumb up, sends the 

 finger straight after the bee, hits ends of 

 wings which slide up on to the forefinger; 

 Ihumb at same time shuts down on them, 

 and the trick is done. Very swift and neat 

 as he did it. Tried it myself lately. Fin- 

 ger went too lov/. No"\v T have a suspicion 

 that some things one has shown to him had 

 lietter not be meddled with. It's more than 

 a suspicion — it's a conviction. 



* » * 



AT THE SHOW. 



A lot of single-comb observatory hives, 

 some of the well-known commercial type, 

 some of the new type having the ventila- 

 tion wholly along the bottom of each side. 

 In the former the bees were uneasy and 

 racing about, while in the latter they were 

 quiet and attending to household duties in a 

 perfectly normal manner. And, by the 

 way, do you know that it is a fine art, 

 puffing up a nucleus for exhibition? The 

 color of the comb, the color of the bees, 

 and the color of the hive must all be con- 

 sidei'ed. If the hive is dark in finish the 

 comb should be light and bees dai'k. If 

 hive is light in color, a dark comb and 

 light bees fit. Then one must not have 

 too many old bees nor too many bees of 

 any one age. The quantity of bees must 

 be sufficient to keep the brood warm and 

 yet not crowd things; and in this connec- 

 tion the two panes of glass on each side 

 and ventilation only at the bottom help 

 immensely. If you are to folloAv the sliows 

 Jiext year, just take time this winter to 

 study hive colors and comb colors. He who 

 does it best will stand the best chance of 

 winning. 



* * * 



Another ''show" item. Exhibition of 

 cjueens is more often than otherwise a dis- 

 appointment to the visitors. In a nucleus 

 the queens are hard to find except by the 

 experienced. When in cages the light is 

 poor and the queen is often hidden under 

 the bees. Queens show best in a special 

 cage about four inches square. The front 

 is glass, ventilation is a small opening near 

 one lower corner, and is wire-screened; 

 glas."? is only one bee-space from back of 

 cage, and candy food is in the bottom of 

 cage. Thus arranged the queen cannot 

 hide. Hang such cages up like pictures 

 and you have a queen exhibit that is worth 



while. 



* * * 



When showing queen-cells, arrange the 

 display so the bees cannot completely hide 



theui by clustering in front of them. Glass 

 on one side only; and that close to the cells 

 with plenty of room behind the cells works 

 nicely if two panes of glass are used with 

 a confined air-space between. There is a 

 knack in getting cells built for show pur- 

 poses, as you will discover if you try. And 

 you will also discover that making a com- 

 p]-ehensive exhibit of queens and queen-cells 

 is an art by itself quite different from other 

 brandies of bee culture. 



* « * 



"Don't touch," said the sign; but the fin- 

 ger-prints in the surfaces of the comb honey 

 told a woeful story of the illiteracy of the 

 spectators. I wish the public would learn 

 to read. The managers of some of the 

 shows furnish glass cases for honey and 

 similai- exhibits; at others the exhibitors 

 must do so or take their chances. The 

 premiums as a rule do not warrant the risk 

 in showing, to say nothing of the expense, 

 imless one may sell at their exhibit or near 

 it. Wonder if the beekeepers' societies can- 

 not consider these things and take them up 

 with the show managers. They can accom- 

 plish more than individuals. I think it is 

 v/orth considering, and I believe that, if 

 rightly handled, the exhibitions can be made 

 a much greater influence in spreading the 

 use of honey. Some of you "know-hows," 



please get busy. 



* * •* 



Varying Avith your point of view it is 

 "strange," "interesting," or "funny" what 

 different things arrest the attention of dif- 

 ferent persons. There was a display of 

 combs arranged to sliow the difference be- 

 tween the profitable and unprofitable kinds, 

 and also an old black comb with " wax- 

 Avorras" at Avork in it, and a fcAv of the 

 moths (dead) pinned to it. It Avas all a 

 good instructive exhibit, and Avas fully la- 

 beled so he Avho ran could read. That 

 bunch of worms caused more talk than all 

 else. Poor morbid humanity ! But it did 

 stop people, and gave the desired oppor- 

 tunity for talking bees and good beekeeping. 

 And, mind you, there was no honey shown 

 anyAvhere near that exhibit. Worms and 

 honey is not a combination that it is avoU 

 for tlio public to associate. 



* * * 



I saAv an excellent exhibit of hives and 

 appliances at a county fair. Every part of 

 the hive was labeled after this manner: 

 " Model hive, simple, efficient, reasonable 

 in'ice." " This size entrance is best for 

 warm ]»arf of the year." " Queen-excluding 

 honey-board for keeping queen out of the 

 sin plus-honey chambers. Ahvays to be used 



