618 



TH® MMERICMEf BES JO^RffMl.. 



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much in our business career, that we 

 are now mourning the loss of many 

 thousands of dollars tnislcd ! Then 

 about " honey trusts," it was only 

 a few months ago that the papers would 

 have it that the New York bee-keepers 

 were to hold a meeting to form a 

 " honey trust," which was to accom- 

 plish loondcrs ! But there was no truth 

 in it. Two years ago a Honey Pro- 

 ducers' Association was talked of 

 ■when the honey crop was of fair pro- 

 portions, and if such a plan as then 

 presented could be carried out, it would 

 be productive of much good. Such an 

 association would practically put an 

 end to the swindling done by dishonor- 

 dble commission men (for there are 

 such, though there are also many 

 honorable ones) who sell at one price, 

 and report to producers at another and 

 lower one. There are sharpers and 

 swindlers in all occupations, and honey 

 commission men are no exception to 

 the rule.— Ed. 1 



they cease work at 11 o'clock, but gen- 

 erally as soon as 1 o'clock. I think I 

 have never seen a bee work as late as 

 3 p. m. on buckwheat. 



I have not had any increase this sea- 

 son, mainly, I think, on account of the 

 large, roomy hives which I use. They 

 take 10 frames of the Langstroth size, 

 and hold -10 sections 414 x i}i x 1 15-16, 

 in each super. I thiuk they are as 

 good non-swarming hives as there are 

 in existence, not excepting the " Cotton 

 Hive." 



If my bees had swarmed, I should 

 not have a pound of surplus ; as it is, I 

 have 30 lbs. per colony. We will now 

 commence to prophesy concerning the 

 crop of 1889, which surely ought to be 

 very large. 



Stannard's Cor., N. Y., Sept. 3, 1888. 



NEW YORK. 



An Average Honey Crop 

 30 lbs. per Colony. 



of 



THE FAIRS. 



AVill it Pay to Exhibit Bees and 

 Honey ? 



Written for Gleanings in Bee-Culture 

 BY DR. A. B. MASON. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY H. J. ROGERS. 



The season for surplus has closed 

 here, and the result is not very encour- 

 aging ; however, we have some honey, 

 and are thankful. 



My 80 colonies were put into winter 

 quarters last fall with plenty of bees 

 and honey, and came out in the spring 

 without any loss ; but live colonies 

 were rather weak, and I lost 3 out of 

 the 5 by spring dwindling. 



The cold, backward spring kept the 

 brood from spreading very fast, so that 

 when apple blossoms appeared, most 

 colonies were not very strong. For the 

 first season here since I have kept bees, 

 apple blossoms yielded no nectar, and I 

 soon found some of my colonies on the 

 verge of starvation ; especially those 

 that I had transferred. I fed all the 

 honey 1 had on hand, and also consider- 

 able sugar syrup. 



About June 1 raspberries opened, and 

 about four-fifths of my colonies com- 

 menced work in the sections, and I 

 secured about 2,000 lbs. of very nice 

 honey, all in the comb. At this time 

 we were getting copious rains, and it 

 looked as if clover would be a fine bar- 

 vest, but it yielded very little, scarcely 

 more than last season. 



This section is always favored with 

 lots of buckwheat, and when I found 

 that the basswood was a total failure, I 

 hoped we would get a " big run " from 

 buckwheat. This, too, has failed on 

 account of a frost, which has ended all 

 work in the sections for this season. 



It is well known that bees do not 

 work on buckwheat except a few hours 

 in the early part of the day— sometimes 



Agricultural fairs set in motion the 

 best elements of farm life, and stir up 

 the ambition of those interested, and 

 all o/e interested in the success of the 

 undertaking. It is an advertisement 

 for the community and for persons in- 

 terested ; and if the display is good it 

 gives a good reputation to the exhibitor. 



" Like other productive industries, 

 bee-keeping is not exempt from uncer- 

 tainties as to results, and few things 

 bring to the bee keeper so many pleas- 

 ant and profitable things as does a dis- 

 play of bees, honey, and apiarian appli- 

 ances," at the annual and other State, 

 county, and district fairs and exposi- 

 tions. Wherever such an exhibit is 

 made it is a nucleus around which bee- 

 keepers gather, and in a quiet, pleasant, 

 and profitable way exchange ideas and 

 discuss matters "new and old." An 

 incident at the Tri-State Fair held here 

 two years ago made a more lasting im- 

 pression on me than hours of ordinary 

 talking or pages of reading-matter 

 might have done. An elderly farmer, 

 some would have called him an " old 

 codger," wanted to buy some bees of 

 me. We talked over prices, etc., and I 

 thought a bargain was about made, 

 when he asked me if I used the ex- 

 tractor. When I told him I did. it 

 would have done any melancholy dys- 

 peptic good to see the expression of 

 disgust that spread over his face as he 

 said, " I don't want any of your bees." 

 Strange as it may seem, I had to laugh 

 in spite of all my efforts to the contrary, 

 and I saw that this oracle knew that 

 the extractor is responsible for the 

 great winter mortality among bees, for 

 he afterwards told me so. 1 believe he 

 tried to purchase bees of every bee- 

 keeper there, and with the same result. 



If there is a business that requires a 

 man who can express in his face, at one 

 and the same time, disgust, contempt, 

 and anywhere from ten to ten thousand 

 other kinds of expressions, I would 

 most earnestly recommend that gentle- 



man as the best-qualified man to run 

 that business that 1 ever met. 



These exhibits aid us in our efforts 

 to popularize the use of honey as food 

 and medicine. They will also help to 

 raise the standard of excellence, both 

 quality and attractiveness of honey put 

 upon the market. New ideas will be 

 disseminated, new methods will be 

 learned, and old ones discarded. 



Bees and honey are always great at- 

 tractions at fairs ; and to hear the " fat " 

 expressions and quaint sayings of 

 "smart" country people and city 

 " dudenes" is enough to add years of 

 happy life to the average age of those 

 who enjoy snch things. To listen to 

 fond papas and doting mammas as they 

 explain to their children, who are all 

 eyes and ears at such times, the mys- 

 teries of the hive, and how the bees 

 " make honey " while they are shut in 

 the hive at the fair, and how a honey- 

 extractor works either as a washing- 

 machine, an ice-cream freezer, or a 

 churn, will cause a change in the facial 

 expression of such stoics as Mr. Hutch- 

 inson and a score or more others whom 

 I might name, but space forbids ; and 

 such matter-of-fact men as our friend 

 A. I Boot gather new enthusiasm and 

 energy from such displays of sweetness, 

 and the consequent contact with wise 

 and o(/ici-wise people. 



The first year I lived here, the pre- 

 mium offered by the Tri-State Fair was 

 five dollars "for the best show of 

 honey." I found the " show " set away 

 on a high shelf among other things, 

 and where it was seen by but few. It 

 consisted of a rough box, holding about 

 twenty pounds of comb honey, with 

 glass in one end of the box. I spoke to 

 officers of the society about the matter, 

 and the result was the offering of over 

 $100 the next year as premiums, and 

 the next year $208. For six years the 

 Bee and Honey Department has been a 

 " fixture," and, like other departments, 

 has a superintendent, etc. ; and last fall 

 it was said to be " the most attractive 

 exhibit on the grounds." The exhibit 

 in 1882 was small compared to what it 

 has since become, and was described in 

 the American Bee Journal by the 

 editor, who assisted in awarding the 

 premiums, as a " grand success. The 

 small corner set apart for the bee and 

 honey show was so crammed all the 

 time that it was with great difficulty 

 any one could get through the crowd, 

 and utterly impossible for many who 

 desired to examine the exhibits to even 

 get within a stone's throw of them." 



I want to sav a few kind words about 

 friend T. G. Newman. When we first 

 started out to make an exhibition of 

 honey, etc., at the Tri-State Fair in 

 1882 and also in 1883, he kindly con- 

 sented to help us, and came from Chi- 

 cago to Toledo and spent three days 

 each year, without "fee or reward," in 

 aiding in judging, and starting us off 

 in good shape. A. 1. Root and 0. F. 

 Muth and others helped us in 1883, and 

 we have tried each year to improve on 

 the previous one. 



The exhibit at the St. Joseph, Mo., 

 fair has become one of its most attrac- 

 tive features ; and for five or six years 

 past the Michigan bee-keepers have 

 made a large and attractive display at 



