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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Bees at the Michigan State Fair. 



Tlie miniagers of the Michigan State 

 Fair are exhibiting a business energy 

 wortliy of tlie liigiiest commendation, 

 and in advance we predict for tliem 

 the most interesting and successful 

 Fair Week they liave ever experienced. 

 Tlie following circular has been quite 

 extensively distributed to bee-keep- 

 ers, and will stimulate an appreciative 

 response on their part, that will make 

 the apiarian department one of the 

 most attractive features of the Fair : 



The Michigan State Agricultin-al 

 Society are fitting up on the fair 

 grounds at J.ackson, Mich., a fine 

 building for the exliibitiou of bees, 

 honey and bee-keepers' supplies with 

 a wire room in one ])art for the exhi- 

 bition of bees. The Society offer pre- 

 miums amounting to one hundred and 

 fifteen dollars, the largest ever offered 

 by any Agricultural Society in this 

 country. It is open to the world and 

 it is hoped and expected that each and 

 every bee-keeper will avail himself of 

 this opportunity and make one grand 

 exhibition of bees, honey and supplies. 



The last day of the fair will be a 

 grand sales day, when each exhibitor 

 can sell anything on exhibitii^i and 

 not wait un'til after the fair is over as 

 heretofore. This will bring a great 

 many bee-keepers on the last day ; for 

 thev can buy and take off the grounds 

 anything on exhibition. A large num- 

 ber of the leading bee-keepers have 

 promised to be tliere and exhibit, and 

 the display of bees, honey and supplies 

 will be very large. 



A special premium will be given to 

 any lady making the largest and best 

 display of bees and their products. 



The fair commences on the 18th of 

 Septenil)er and will close the 2M. 

 Any bee-keeper unable to attend the 

 fair in jierson and having anything he 

 wishes exhibited or sold, will send it 

 bv freicht or exi)ress, charges paid, to 

 H. D. Cutting, .Tackson, Mich., when 

 it will be taken care of according to 

 instructions. 



For any information write to H. D. 

 Cutting, Clinton, Mich., chairman of 

 committee for State Fairexhibition. 



As with the Tri-State Fair, it will be 

 seen, an opportunity will be afforded 

 all exhibitors of apiarian products to 

 dispose of tlieir goods on the ground, 

 thereby not only saving the expense 

 and trouble of returning the goods 

 home, but providing a highly appre- 

 ciative market for the disposal of them, 

 after having furnished transportation 

 free, or at much less than usual rates 

 for exhibitor and products. 



It is highly gratifying to know that 

 our earnest and persistent efforts for 

 several years to cause the recognition, 

 by the public. of bee-keepingasan im- 

 portant factor in our national wealth, 

 is meeting with responsive action on 

 the part of those who are entrusted 



with the Important duty of managing 

 these popular expositions ; and bee- 

 keepers will be derelict in their duty 

 to themselves and fraternity, and ex- 

 hibit a seKJshness worthy of a more 

 ignoble calling, if they do not take the 

 fullest advantage of every generous 

 encouragement, and serve themselves 

 by benefitting the public in making 

 the most of these opportnnies. We 

 have no doubt the many tons of honey 

 which will be exhibited at the Michi- 

 gan State Fair, will be profitably sold 

 before removal from the exhibition 

 building. 



A novel feature in the premium list 

 is the mention of a special premium 

 to the lady making the largest and 

 best display of bees and their products. 

 There are several quite successful 

 lady apiarists in Michigan, and we 

 would not be surprised if the special 

 premium stimulated a very spirited 

 competition not only for its capture, 

 but for the sweepstakes also. We 

 have for years had, in the Bee Jour- 

 nal Museum, a section of honey pro- 

 duced by a Michigan lady apiarist, 

 that would not take second rank in 

 any exhibition, though it was one of a 

 lot exposed for sale in a grocery store 

 when we purchased it. 



Wax Rendering'. 



Mr. Phil. Rearden, Jamestown, Col., 

 propounds the following queries : 



1. Please publish the best method of 

 making wax from comb V I send you 

 a flower on which bees have been 

 working for S weeks, when they would 

 not be found on any other flowers. 2. 

 Can you give us the true name for it? 



1. We think tlie use of the Swiss 

 or Gerster wax extractor is the most 

 economical and satisfactory method 

 of rendering beesvfax from combs, 

 leaving the wax pure and of the high- 

 est market value, and requiring no 

 especial attention or skill. The primi- 

 tive method is with the use of the 

 ordinary wash boiler, in which strips 

 of wood, say 1 inch thick and Ui 

 inches wide are laid across the bot- 

 tom, to prevent burning ; make sacks 

 of coarse strainer-cloth to hold about 

 1 peck each ; warm and press your 

 combs to get them in as small a com- 

 pass as possible, and fill the sacks; 

 put these in the boiler till it is well 

 tilled; plac^a board on top, with a 

 weight on it to press down as the 

 combs shrink from loss of wax ; fill 

 up with hot water and set on the 

 stove. The weight should be heavy 

 enough to submerge itself below the 



surface of the water, and the latter 

 should be replenished often enough ta 

 admit of dipping or skimming off the 

 wax. Many use sal soda in the water 

 when rendering the wax, but we da 

 not like to recommend it, because a 

 trifle too much is very likely to injure 

 the wax, and rob it of its flavor ; and 

 we do not know that it assists any in 

 speed. 



The second query is answered by 

 Prof. Burrill, of the Illinois Industrial 

 University, as follows : 



2. Crane's-bill or spotted geranium 

 [Geranium miicidatHm). This is a. 

 very pretty and interesting plant,, 

 common throughout the northwest in 

 woods and fields, but rare in New 

 England. The thickened root is very 

 astringent, and is collected for domes- 

 tic medicine, and is, I believe, iiseil 

 by the physicians to some extent. The- 

 common name comes from the peculiar 

 appearance of the fruit, which con- 

 sists of five iiarts adherent to a pe- 

 culiar elongation of the axis of the- 

 stem. At maturity these one-seeded 

 parts separate elastically from the- 

 base, curling outward with a snap sa 

 as to throw the seed to some distance. 

 There are ten stamens, five of which 

 are longer than their brothers, and 

 each has a honey-gland at its base,, 

 supplying a rich amount of nectar foi^ 

 the bees. The plant is worthy of cul- 

 tivation in several respects. 



The Weather for Angnst and Sep* 



tember.— Veunor gives the following- 

 as the forecast for this and next 

 month: 



August will be another month of 

 storms and unusual rainfall with one- 

 or two remarkably low curves of tem- 

 perature. I expect snowfalls will be- 

 recorded in extreme western and 

 northwestern sections, and cold rains, 

 at more southerly stations shortly 

 after the middle of the month. Octo- 

 ber will be very similar, but of course, 

 colder. 



September is likely to be the coun- 

 ter-balancing month of this most un- 

 propitious season, and during thia 

 month everything should be done that 

 can be, to house things safely against, 

 further wet and storm. 



In the Middle and Northern United 

 States and Canada, the weather is alsa 

 likely to continue wet up to a late 

 period, but two or more wintry beltsL 

 of weather with snow-falls, are likely 

 to be experienced in the latter portion 

 of October and in November, after- 

 which rain will again set in. At New 

 York the autumn will be very wet. 

 In the Northwest early cold and ad- 

 vanced snow-falls are likely to be tli& 

 conditions, while in December thfe 

 cold may be intense. 



