1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



357 



first ever held by the aid of artificial heat 

 and light. 



Mr. S. D. House, of Camillus. N. Y., was 

 the originator of the cage. I first saw him 

 at our New York State fair, a year ago, 

 and he very cordially invited me into the 

 cage while he went to lonch. I very quickly 

 accepted this invitation, and ever since then 

 I have been anxious to make a similar dem- 

 onstration myself. 



I was handicapped at the start in finding 

 a place in which to make the demonstra- 

 tion, as it was getting so late in the fall 

 that it was too cold to handle the bees out- 

 doors. I tried first to get a vacant store, 

 but failed, so I went to one of the drygoods 

 stores, thinking that they might regard my 

 demonstration as a good drawing card. The 

 proprietor said he could not think of such a 

 thing, for he said the bees would get out and 

 sting the girls, etc. He waked away then, 

 and left me standing. Then I went over to 

 another store, where, after a good deal of 

 talk, I arranged for a suitable space at $25 

 a week. This space was on a landing lead- 

 ing to the basement. I gave him some fine 

 honey before I left, and told him I would be 

 back in a few days and let him know when I 

 could come. There were several things that 

 I had to think about. I didn't know what 

 the bees would do without any brood. I 

 was afraid they would be cross; and then 

 the question of the electric-arc light bother- 

 ed me. 1 expected the bees to come out and 

 crawl or fly all over the cage toward the 

 light. But I was willing to give the matter 

 a test, so I began to make the necessary ar- 

 rangements. I first ordered 3000 business 

 cards with the picture of a straw skep, and 

 over it the words " Our toil doth sweeten 

 others';" and, " The healthiest stveet is obtain- 

 ed from the hive I sell it pure. Extracted 

 honey a specialty." This was followed by 

 my name, address, and telephone number. I 

 then ordered 115 dozen tumblers of such a 

 size as to hold ju^t J lb. of honey; and 2 and 

 4 lb. tin pails were used also. I also order- 

 ed 3000 labels giving facts about candied 

 honey and how to liquefy it. Two ladies 

 were to sell the honey, because I supprsrrl I 

 should have to stay in the cage most of the 

 time. Finally the following advertisement 

 was put in all the daily papers by the dry- 

 goods firm : 



A Swarm of Bees. 



^^i,: 



Did you ever have a chance 

 to observe honey bees close- 

 ly? There is a swarm of 

 them on rear Basemenl land- 

 ing. Caged of course, you 

 won't be stung. The cpiarist 

 enters the cage and mingles 

 with the bees with imp;:Dity 



—immune to stings practically. 



U is an interesting exhibit. Pure bono? to trke '. ■■■a 



with you at reasonable cost. 



The appointed day came. The cage was 

 set up, and bees put in and let loose about 

 11 A.M. To my surprise they clung to the 

 hive ani combs as though they were in a 

 bee-yari in the height of the season. They 



were very gen'le, and all was favorable. I 

 had my No. 15 Cowan extractcr and some 

 combs, and showed the people how honey is 

 really extracted from the comb. My two 

 forty- quart milk- cans, fitted with the Root 

 honey- gate, were also there to show what I 

 draw honey from when I deliver it around 

 town. I shall have more to say about this 

 in another article soon. One of these cans 

 was filled with buckwheat honey, and the 

 other with white-clover honey. 



When my week was up the superintendent 

 came to me and wanted me to stay another 

 week, saying that it was the best demon- 

 stration they had ever had in their store. I 

 told them 1 would stay three days longer if 

 they would L t me have a picture of the cage 

 taken, and give me another advertisement 

 in the five dailies of the town. This picture 

 is the one here shown. It was taken after 

 working hours, so that is why you don't see 

 great crowds. Mr. Archie Coggshall, inside 

 the cage, is holding up a bunch of bees clus- 

 tered on his hand, similar to a cluster on a 

 tree in swarming t)nie. During the rush on 

 the last Saturday night we were there, the 

 two ladies sold $30.00 worth in three hours. 



I would let a crowd come up around the 

 cage, and then tell them a short story be- 

 fore letting them go to the rear of the cage 

 where they could see how honey is extracted. 

 At another corner they could get a taste of 

 the honey, just drawn from the can, on a 

 piece of paraffine paper. From this corner 

 they would be pretty sure to go over to the 

 counter where they could buy it. In this 

 way we kept them on the move. 



It was atr using to hear the different sums 

 of money that prople said they would refuse 

 before they would go into the cage. Some 

 said five dollars, and some a million. One 

 of our noted Western New York bee-keep- 

 ers, when asked to come into the cage and 

 get away from the pickpockets, said, "Do 

 you want me to jump from the frying-pan 

 into the fire?" A man who has made a life- 

 study of rattlesnakes, and is able to handle 

 them like kittens, said he would not dare go 

 into the cage with me. This shows that, to 

 the average person, the sight is wonderful. 



In addition to advertising and establishing 

 my name as that of a honey-dealer, I sold a 

 gcod deal of honey, as shown by the follow- 

 ing list of sales: 



Oct. 19, $4 30; 20, $7.19: 21. $28 95; 23, 

 $11.69; 24, $15.49; 25, $18.46; 26. $13 2i; 27. 

 $13.37; 28, $44.34. Total, $157 00, Lefs $25 

 and work, $:i7.50. Total net, $119 50. 



Chili Center, N. Y. 



[Before we tried the live-bee demonstra- 

 tion inside of a cage we felt very doubtful, 

 not to ssy dubious, of the re3ult; but when 

 the bees behaved just as they do outdoors in 

 mild Fummer weather, our fears soon gave 

 place t) confidence. 



Say! it is surprising how the average per- 

 son, not a bee keeper, regards this feat of 

 handling live bees. All, without exception, 

 regard it as more daring than the trick of 

 handling lions and tigers in a cage, and right 



