1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1075 



at the present time there are not enough 

 really fine horses to go round. 



This brings me round to the idea that at 

 least one great bee-keepers' show will have 

 to be organized in the large cities every 

 year. It would take a considerable amount 

 of hard cash to organize such a show, but 

 the returns from admissions, etc.. ought to 

 reduce the actual loss to a small amount, 

 possibly nothing. What we want is some- 

 thing thoroughly educative. We must show 

 the public how comb honey is produced ; and, 

 furthermore, show that thousands of tons 

 are produced annually, and, what is more to 

 the point, that it is impossible to produce 

 comb honey by machinery. 



Organize a handsome show in New York 

 or Chicago, and almost every daily paper 

 in the country will have a notice of it 

 that is far better than any amount of 

 advertising. The principal feature of such 

 a show ought to be bees and honey— not 

 apparatus, though this should not be neg- 

 lected. There should be honey by the ton 

 of every kind— clover, raspberry, basswood, 

 tupelo, palmetto, sage, alfalfa, catclaw, 

 logwood, campanula, in evidence at such a 

 show. Honey should be on sale in large and 

 small quantities, and every attempt made to 

 make honey popular. A great deal can be 

 done in interesting the city schools by allow- 

 ing the children free entrance, etc. All this 

 would entail a great deal of work ; but 

 other people do so, and so should we. The 

 cost can be approximated by finding out the 

 cost of the New York poultry show. 



The bee-keepers' show ought to be a reg- 

 ular function of New York (and elsewhere) 

 society every fall. I am firmly of the opin- 

 ion we can put up as good a show as the 

 hen-keepers, dog-owners, or horse-breeders; 

 in fact, I believe that in beauty and scien- 

 tific interest we can surpass all these people. 

 By publishing the prize list about a year 

 ahead, the bee-keepers would be in a posi- 

 tion to "lick creation," or at least be ab.e 

 to make the city folks quite believe the bee- 

 keepers are the sweetest men who live on 

 Mother Earth. 



[Our friend Mr. Morrison says he would 

 not waste a cent on advertising ; but in al- 

 most the same preath he proposes one of 

 the biggest advertising schemes to popular- 

 ize honey that has ever been proposed in 

 these columns. He is to be excused, for 

 his plan is one of the most sensible that has 

 been proposed in many a day. Our great 

 exhibitions, our county fairs, all advertise 

 products of the factory and the farmer, and 

 most effectively too. I do not remember 

 that any one has before suggested the fea- 

 sibility of holding a big bee show in New 

 York or Chicago, such show to be conducted 

 solely for the purpose of informing the gen- 

 eral public about honey as a food. 



I have recently attended a couple of fairs, 

 have helped to make demonstrations of how 

 bees are handled, honey taken from the 

 combs, and I know something of what can 

 be done by this kind of advertising, for ad- 

 vertising it is, of the very best kind. 



If the National Bee-keepers' Association 

 or the Honey-producers' League, or both, 

 could arrange to get up a big show, rent 

 some big hall, where the product of the in- 

 dustry could be elaborately shown, where 

 hives of bees could be handled in inclosed 

 bee-cages, so the general public could see 

 the several processes of honey-production, I 

 think we should see an awakening in our 

 honey-market that we never saw before. 

 Such a show ought to be held for a week, 

 just the same as the great automobile shows, 

 the dog shows, the horse shows, and poultry 

 shows are held. Let there be representa- 

 tive bee-keepers present to make demon- 

 strations; let honey be given in small sam- 

 ples for the public to taste, let there be big 

 displays of honey. It will cost something, 

 perhaps, but the result will be something 

 magnificent. In an editorial in this issue I 

 have something to say of the feasibilities 

 along this line of advertising at a big coun- 

 ty fair.— Ed.] 



««■>»«» • . ■ 



LARV.a; OF BEE-MOTH GOOD FISH-BAIT. 



Propolis Valuable for Making Shellac Varnish. 



BY ARTHUR GOLDSBOROUGH. 



Page 809 you ask for information as to 

 drone larvee. The larva of any insect is the 

 very choicest of fish- bait. I have spent 

 many hours looking for it, when trout-fish- 

 ing, in old rotten logs. I have used ordina- 

 ry bee brood only once, preferring to get lar- 

 vae from hornets' nests, very plentiful here, 

 and a larger bait. Of course, there would be 

 no preference except in size and ease of obtain- 

 ing. But there is a product of the hive which 

 beats even the brood; i. e., the larvae of the 

 bee-moth. No insect among the caterpillar 

 can equal this, because they are so tough 

 that they can not be nibbled off, and one lar- 

 va will catch several fish. Let Mr. Halter 

 breed some for his patrons of the rod. You 

 can't keep bee-larvae long; but you may put 

 the little moth-worms in a box containing 

 some old comb and web. and wait till they 

 are large enough for fish-bait. Bees often 

 pull out the molh larva and their own brood, 

 and drop it at a distance from their homes. 

 Forest streams would naturally catch some 

 of it, and thus we find here a natural fish 

 food. Some fish that rise to a fly are very 

 fickle as to diet; but if you do not get a 

 "bite" with larva bait, then rest assured 

 that the fish are not present. 



USE FOR ANOTHER PRODUCT OF THE HIVE. 



Others may be on to it; but as I have never 

 seen any mention of propolis as a substitute 

 for leaf shellac I give my way of making a 

 shellac that is very useful around a place, 

 and cheaper than any paint; besides, it is 

 dry in five minutes. Save all the propolis 

 that is gummed about the frames and sec- 

 tions. Throw it into boiling water. When 

 the water cools, skim off the wax on the sur- 

 face, because any mixture of it would soften 

 your shellac varnish. Boil the propolis in 



