1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



31 



from 5-gallon up to 1-lb. cans. The cans are 

 painted blue, red, and yellow. Next came 

 sample cases of honey and bees which you 

 can not see. Every thing was grained in 

 oak and mahogany, giving it a fine appear- 

 ance. I had about 4500 lbs. of very fancy 

 honey, about equal parts of comb and extract- 

 ed. They gave me a fine place in the cen- 

 ter of the agricultural building. All sample 

 cases of comb honey were in 4X5Xl| sec- 

 tions. The 80 cases were of all kinds of sec- 

 tions, and, though I use all kinds, I prefer 

 the 4X5. All sections were perfectly filled, 

 weighing over 15 oz. each. 

 Mineral Point, Wis., Oct. 9. 



ADVERTISING BY MAKING EXHIBITS 

 AND TALKING BEES. 



BY J. G. CREIGHTON. 



The photo I am sending you is taken from 

 an exhibit I made Aug. 26, at a local picnic. 

 My left hand is on an extracting-frame of 

 honey, I had this in a glass case so it 

 would not attract the attention of the bees 

 in the neighborhood, and so keep the people 

 away from the exhibit, for I wanted them 

 to ask me questions about this frame of 

 honey. I would show them the extracted 

 honey in the bottles, and explain to them 

 how we took it from just such sealed frames 

 of honey. The most attractive part of the 

 display was the one-frame observatory 

 hive of golden Italian bees, with square sec- 

 tions, so I could explain to them how we 

 produce comb honey. I could show them 

 the mother of the bees, in the act of depositing 

 eggs in the cells; also the larvae, and bees 

 hatching out of the cells. All were much 

 interested, from the children to the old peo- 

 ple. I had also three cakes of beeswax on 

 a case of 2-lb. sections of honey. I put up 

 these 2-lb. sections for the occasion, as I 

 think that they make a better appearance 

 than the smaller section. I am one of those 

 who believe it was a mistake to do away with 

 the larger sections, for I can produce more 

 honey with them than I can in smaller sec- 

 tions ; and in our county I can sell just as 

 much of it. 



In front of me are seven bottles of extract- 

 ed honey and a cake of beeswax on a case 

 of 4J sections of honey. Over half of the 

 people who looked at the beeswax did not 

 know what it was, and soon began to ask 

 questions, ' ' How do you make it? and what 

 kind of molds did you mold it in?" I explain- 

 ed to them that I melted it by steam, and 

 put the molding on top of it by running it 

 hot into a vessel of cold water. 



I believe that, by making these exhibits, 

 we can build up a home market for our honey, 

 and will not have to put it on to the market 

 at wholesale prices. But it will not do to 

 put your exhibit on the stand and then go 

 ofl[ and leave it, as many do. You want to 

 stay with it, and answer questions, and talk 

 bees and honey. 



Harrison, Ohio, Oct. 10. 



[Bee-keepers for the next few years will 

 realize the importance of advertising their 

 business at all large public gatherings. 

 Just now there is no more interesting sub- 

 ject to the general public than bees and the 

 production of honey. Popular demonstra- 

 tions with live bees in connection with ex- 

 hibits, as described by our two correspon- 

 dents, will have a very strong tendency to 

 stimulate the local market for honey. I ex- 

 pect to preach this doctrine clear up to fair 

 time, and even after that time if it be nec- 

 essary to get our brethren te realize what 

 they can do in the way of advertising their 

 own business and nearly doubling their net 

 returns. What is the use of sending every 

 pound of honey to the city, where markets 

 are liable to be glutted, when you can keep 

 that same honey at home, save the freight 

 on it, commission, drayage, and breakage, 

 and get practically double prices? But, 

 more anon. — Ed.] 



QUESTIONS CONCERNING ITALIAN BEES AND 

 DISEASES OF BEES AND CATTLE. 



1. Is it a fact that most of the Italian bees 

 resist bee diseases? Are there very many 

 instances where the blacks have had foul 

 brood? My bees have something very seri- 

 ous — either pickled or black brood. The dead 

 larvae, in some cases, rope slightly, and have 

 the smell that foul brood is said to have, re- 

 sembling black brood a great deal. I have 

 had several colonies that had the disease, 

 that showed scarcely any healthy cells in the 

 hive. The Italians I had, that were pure, 

 did not have the disease enough to hurt them 

 seriously for the honey-flow, 



2. I am thinking of moving my bees up 

 close to the pasture fence. Would the cattle 

 and horses learn to keep away from that 

 side of the fence when the bees are cross, 

 or would there be danger of the animals 

 staying by the fence and being stung to 

 death? 



3. Are the Italians inclined to sting a few 

 feet from the hive when working heavily, 

 and unmolested, as the hybrids are apt to 

 do? 



4. Is straw a good packing material? I 

 had six hives in a shed last year, four inches 

 apart, packed tight with straw, with the re- 

 sult that they wintered very poorly. The 

 bees faced the south, and were kept dry. 

 Were they packed too closely, or what was 

 the trouble? Edgar Williams. 



Pierpont, 0., Nov. 1, 



[1. The reports from York State show 

 that black bees are much more liable to con- 



