324 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Bees and Houey at Fairs. 



Public manipulations with bees and 

 magnificent honey exhibits will soon 

 become tlie most attractive features 

 of State, County, and District Fairs. 

 There are many good reasons for in- 

 troducing such, but the chief one, 

 perhaps, is tliat those who produce 

 honey for the market may be induced 

 to present it in tlie most marketable 

 shape ; for the new methods and new- 

 ideas of practical management must 

 take the place of tlie old and unde- 

 sirable ones. 



It is our aim to make honey a staple 

 product. To this end we have en- 

 deavored to popularize the consump- 

 tion of honey by the masses, as well 

 as to raise the standard of production, 

 by applying correct principles and 

 progressive art to the management of 

 the apiary. 



Bees and honey are already the 

 great attraction at such fairs as have 

 given prominence to this industry — 

 and this will become more apparent 

 «ach successive year. The officers of 

 the St. Joseph, Mo., Exposition were 

 surprised at the result of their ex- 

 periment in encouraging the apiarian 

 department ; they realize the fact 

 that it formed tlie greatest attraction 

 presented by the Exposition. The 

 editor of the Gazette gave his views of 

 the subject in the following article : 



Few things last week brought us so 

 many pleasant and profitable tilings 

 combined— as the display of honey 

 made at the fair, and the lecture of 

 Mr. Newman, of Chicago, on "Bees 

 and Honey." The attention given to 

 the subject this year marks a new era; 

 the display attracted very great at- 

 tention ; good prizes were offered and 

 awarded ; the bee-keepers of the region 

 were encouraged, and a more general 

 interest was aroused iu the subject. 

 The lecture was very practical, and 

 contained many hints that are inval- 

 uable. But practical as it was. the 

 pleasure of tlie apiary as well as the 

 profit was told; for Mr. Xewman is 

 an entlmsiast, as, to use his own 

 words, all bee-keepers are. 



Mr. Musser, superintendent of the 

 department, wrote as follows : 



The exhibits of last year have 

 worked up quite an interest in iiro- 

 gressive apiculture in tliis vicinity. 

 Many then, for tlie first time, saw the 

 new apiarian improvements, single 

 comb sections, comb foundation, etc., 

 and had never heard of planting any- 

 tliing for their bees to get lioney 

 from. Not one cent iu premiums was 

 offered last year, but this year over 

 $120. besides diplomas are offered, 

 and next year 1 know we can double 

 the amount. 



The managers of the St. Joseph 



Fair, have, by their foresight, given a 

 good example for otiiers to follow, and 

 we hope the time will speedily come 

 when apiculture, so long neglected 

 by the managers of fairs, will receive 

 its due share of attention. Liberal 

 premiums should be offered for the 

 best exhibits, and these premiums 

 should cover a large variety of special 

 points in order to make the competi- 

 tion the more lively, as well as to 

 enhance apiarian science in general. 

 The time has now came when ar- 

 rangements for honey and bee shows 

 must be completed. Vice Presidents 

 of the Continental Society should at 

 once see the Fair Committees through- 

 out the country .and have a liberal 

 premium list announced. We sug- 

 gest something like the following : 



First Second 

 Prem. Prem. 



Best display of ItKliiin Bees $25.00 $i5.(xi 



" Black or Native Bees — 20.(.k) io.oo 



" " Home- Bred Queens 25.00 15.00 



" " Imported Queens 10.00 5.00 



" ** Comb Honey, not less 



thiiTi.VllUs 25.00 15.00 



*' " Extracted Honey, not 



less than 50 lbs 25.00 15.00 



Best Colony of Bees m Hive, in- 



cludin^manipulation. 25.00 15 00 

 Best display of Apiarian Impleui'ts. 25.00 15 OC 

 " Seeds for Honey Plants, 

 with common and bo- 

 tanical names 25.00 15 01 



. " " Foundation for Brood 



Chamber 15.00 II x 



" " Foundation for Section 



Surplus Honey 15.00 1000 



Best Bee Hive for all purposes 15.00 1000 



" Honev Extractor S.OOdipIoma 



" Wax iSxtractor 5.00 



Best display of Hr>ney Pastry, etc.. 5.00 

 " Honey Wines and Bev- 

 erages 5.00 



Best Sections or Boxes 5.00 



" Pacitages for Extracted Hon- 

 ey, with Labels 5.00 



" Bee Smoker 



" Honey Knife 



" Bee Feeder 



" BlanUet or quilt for bees 



" Bee Veil or Face Protector — " 



" Gloves or Gauntlets for hand- 

 ling bees 



Some of the above suras may seem 

 slightly extravagant, to persons who 

 have never seen bees and honey figure 

 to any considerable extent in agricul- 

 tural and mechanical exhibitions and 

 fairs, but to any reflecting individual, 

 who takes into consideration the 

 magnitude of the bee-keeping interest 

 at the present time, and the illimit- 

 able millions of pounds of honey 

 now " wasting its sweetness on the 

 desert air," from want of the proper 

 encouragement and development of 

 the industry, the figures will seem 

 modest indeed. Bee-keeping should 

 rank one of the foremost, if not the 

 foremost, feature at these great 

 gatherings. We respectfully suggest 

 to all who have the management of 

 fairs, that a day be set apart during 

 the season for public manipulations 

 and explanations on this subject, and 

 soon these industrial days will become 

 as popular and attractive to the pub- 

 lic as are now the " speed days " of 



horses, or the " trial days " of reapers 

 and plows. 



The following is a convenient 

 method of exhibiting bees at Fairs; 

 One corner of a room on the second 

 floor of a building on the Fair grounds 

 is enclosed by mosquito bar — the 

 hives of bees being inside, with a tube 

 connecting with the entrances run- 

 ning through the sides of the build- 

 ing, allowing the bees free passage in 

 and out of the hives. Manipulation 

 or examination of the bees, may be 

 accomplished by going inside the net- 

 ting, and no one outside need be dis- 

 turbed by the bees. This has been 

 practiced with success at several 

 Fairs iu this county. 



When in Great Britain, during the 

 summer of 1879, we found that the 

 most attractive features of the fairs 

 were the public manipulations with 



Corner of Buildimi, mdosed %mth Net- 

 ting, for exhibiting Bees. 



bees, and the large display of honey 

 of captivating beauty. There they 

 had a large tent, the inner circle be- 

 ing enclosed by mosquito bar or net- 

 ting around the sides and about 8 

 feet high, and (i feet broad ; in this 

 inclosure the audience assemble to 

 witness the manipulations with bees. 

 We gave eight half-hour lectures in 

 tills tent ; each time the inclosure was 

 full of eager listeners. Two of these 

 were delivered at the Scotch Bee and 

 Honey Show, at Perth, concerning 

 which the Dundee ^idi'erfeer remarks : 



The manipulating tent was a scene 

 of great interest during the show. It 

 is of octagon shaiie, the operator 

 standing in the middle, while the 

 public feel secure under the protec- 

 tion of an intervening gauze screen. 

 Driving bees from a straw skip and 

 transferring their combs to a bar- 

 frame hive, were hourly operations. 



