1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



1051 



getting them into the fraeas. When a bad 

 ease of robbing is started, it involves only a 

 eomparatively small number of bees. If 

 these are allowed to go back to their homes 

 they will liring 1)aek a horde of others, and 

 will thus keep the apiary in an uproar for 

 days and weeks. Whenever there happens 

 to be the least bit of sweet exposed these 

 chronic thieves will rush out and start a fu- 

 rore inside of a very few minutes. But trap 

 them, oi% as suggested in our last issue, kill 

 them all together, anil then you will get at 

 the very source of the troul)le. 



Kobljing is like a case of smallpox, diph- 

 theria, or, if you please, foul or black brood. 

 It should be stopped at the very lieginning. 

 There is nothing in the world that will play 

 woi'se mischief with a queen-rearing yard 

 than pilfering bees prying into every en- 

 trance. 



One might suppose that it would be sim- 

 ply impossible to trap out all the rol)l)ers. 

 You will be surprised to find how few of 

 them, compared with the whole uuml)er of 

 Ijees in the yard, ai'e actually engaged in the 

 business of stealing. Even if we had to kill 

 them all after trapping, the loss would not 

 1)6 very great: but. happily, they can be 

 saved, and useil in an out-yard; or, may be, 

 let out in the home yard after they have 

 been confined a week in a cool dark place, 

 where they will have a chance to repent of 

 their sins, or to be more exact, perhaps, for- 

 get all about their .past escapade. 



BEE AXl) HONEY EXHIBITS AT OUR COUNTY 

 fairs: HOW TO DEVELOP A HOME MAR- 

 KET BY MEANS OF LIVE-BEE SHOM^S. 



I PKOJiiSED last fall that I would remind 

 our readers of the importance of preparing 

 bee and honey exhiljits at the coming county 

 fairs. Arrange right now for space. In- 

 stead of going insitle of the fairhouse I would 

 advise putting up a temporary booth out- 

 doors, or rent a tent from some camper who 

 has just returned from his vacation. Prepare 

 a nice honey exhil)it. showing honey in its 

 different forms. 



To draw a crowd, get inside a wire-cloth 

 cage, one big enough to hold yourself and a 

 hive of bees. W^hile an attendant is prepared 

 to make sales, you or some one else should 

 get into the cage, barearmed. bareheaded, 

 without coat or vest, and shake the bees into 

 a Ijig dishpan. Now shake the pan until the 

 Iwesare thoroughly demoralized, rolling them 

 over and over. In this condition you can do 

 almost any thing Avith them, providing you 

 do not pinch them. Gently pass the two 

 hands under the liall of bees, moving them 

 very slowly until you have your hands full, 

 theii hold them before the astonished crowd. 

 Crowds? oh, yes! the people will fairly swarm 

 around your" exhibit. When you get the 

 crowd, thoi is the time U) give a nii-e little 

 talk aliout bees and honey. While you are 

 talking your attendant should show an ex- 

 tractor as well as other appliances. Tell the 

 people who you are, where your Ijee-yards 

 are loc-ated, and hand out honey-leaHets and 



Ijlank postal cards with your name and ad- 

 dress: explain that honey is a wholesome 

 sweet, much safer and better than ordinary 

 cane sugar, and far better than most candy, 

 Ans\\'er all the questions the crijwd may put: 

 and if you do not sell honey, and lots of it. 

 it irill be your own fault. 



Your sales for two or three days, while the 

 fair is in progress, will more than pay ex- 

 penses, and will give you a permanent ad- 

 vertisement that may enable you to dispose 

 of your own crop right in your own locality 

 at twice or possibly three times the price you 

 would get by shipping it to the city. If the 

 experience of others is duplicated, you may 

 sell a great deal more than you produce. 



In connection with your exhihit of bees you 

 ought to have a couple of observatory hives. 

 A one-frame nucleus with glass sides is bet- 

 ter than a whole hive with glass sides, al- 

 though we advise the use of both. 



There should be a large placard out in 

 front of the demonstrating-cage, stating that 

 that hive of Ijees will be handled at such and 

 such hours. Arrange the periods for bee 

 demonstrations so as not to conflict with oth- 

 er things on the ground that may pull away 

 your own crowd. Then rememl^er to make 

 your main demonstration just about the time 

 people are going home, for then is the time 

 they will buy. 



THE NATIONAL PURE-FOOD LAW: WHAT IT 

 WILL DO FOR THE BEE-KEEPER. 



As our readers probably know by this 

 time, we now have a national pure-food law 

 which, in conjunction with the pure-food 

 laws in over two-thirds (jf the States, is go- 

 ing to put the business of producing pure 

 honey on a much i^etter basis. The States 

 that have such laws, especially where there 

 are energetic and honest food" commission- 

 ers, have stopped the practice of adulterat- 

 ing and misbranding to a very great extent: 

 but so long as there was no national law the 

 spurious food products were imported into 

 Territories under the direct jurisdiction of 

 Uncle Sam, and into States that had no 

 laws. But now that we have a national 

 pure-food law, the practice of mixing an in- 

 ferior with a better article of food, or mis- 

 laranding, will be very largely curtailed if 

 not stopped altogether. 



Our I'eaders will remember that there was 

 a concern in Kansas City that used to put 

 out glass packages purporting to contain a 

 pure article of liquid honey, but which, in 

 fact, was almost pui'e glucose. The label 

 boi'e the specious wording, "Kellogg's Pure 

 W^hite-clover H(jney, Medina, Ohio." By 

 this, you see the vender endeavored to bor- 

 row, "or I had Ijetter say steal, the reputation 

 of The A. I. Root Co. As a matter of fact 

 there was no one putting up honey in glass 

 or any other form at Medina but The A. I. 

 Root Co. We threatened prosecution, but 

 found it would be difticult to make out a 

 case, as the concern had not actually used 

 our name. But it came as near it as possi- 

 ble, and succeeded in sending out its prod- 

 ucts until well-meaning bee-keepers every 



