Tmm JJEMERICSK BE® JOWKHRI,. 



619 



their State Fair, and have a separate 

 building for their exhibit, and the pre- 

 mium-list was gradually worked up by 

 Mr. Cutting, Prof. Cook, and others, 

 from next to nothing to over $S(10. At 

 Toronto, Canada, have been made some 

 of the largest (if not the largest) and 

 most attractive exhibitions of honey 

 and apiarian appliances ever made on 

 this continent. 



I believe honey should be made the 

 main attraction. A display of bees 

 and queens is always "in order," and 

 calls forth more quaint and original 

 expressions from the crowd of sight- 

 seers than even the extractor does. 

 Many an old "residenter" has taken 

 pains to put on the second pair of eyes 

 to see '■ the king-bee who bosses all the 

 other bees, and tells them what to do," 

 and then, after being told it is a queen, 

 and the mother of the bees, hurries off 

 to hunt up some friend or member of 

 the family to show them "the mother 

 of all the bees." 



Supplies are viewed with curiosity ; 

 but honey, that "sweetest of sweets, 

 excepting the lasses that we all love to 

 greet," is the great attraction, and 

 creates a desire to taste that which to 

 many is so irresistible that a purchase 

 has to be made before the visitor is 

 satisfied, and then, when leaving, fre- 

 quently turns and casts longing glances 

 at the tempting display of luscious 

 sweetness. 



The skill displayed in making honey 

 exhibits in some of the countries of 

 Europe is so great, and the display so 

 attractive, that it is not a rare thing to 

 have them visited by common people, 

 as well as by kings and queens ; and it 

 is largely the fault of the bee-keepers 

 themselves if like attractive and in- 

 structive displays are not made at the 

 different fairs throughout this country ; 

 and I have yet to learn that the man- 

 agers of any fair have regretted having 

 done what they could to call forth an 

 exhibit of honey, but all have been sur- 

 prised at the beauty and attractiveness 

 of a well-prepared display. 



The Stark Co.,0.,Agricultual Society, 

 at the solicitation of the Stark Co. Bee- 

 Keeper's Soceity, last year appropriated 

 $100, to be given, as premiums for bees 

 and honey, etc. and $1.50 for the erec- 

 tion of a building for the display of 

 things pertaining to the apiary. 



If all county and State agricultural 

 societies cannot be induced to give fair 

 premiums for the products of the apiary, 

 without doubt enough can be secured 

 to more than pay expenses ; but some 

 one or more bee-keepers must look 

 after the matter, and be sure that it is 

 attended to. It will not take care of 

 itself. 



The question with us all very prop- 

 erly arises, •• Does it pay to he to all 

 this expense and trouble ?" The same 

 question very naturally arises, also, in 

 regard to any kind of an exhibit at 

 fairs, and each will have to answer 

 the question for himself. 



On page 221 of Glcaninfjs for 1887, J. 

 II. Martin puts this matter before us 

 very nicely. He says, " Does it jk(;/ to 

 spend time and money to advertise the 

 honey business V If we look around 

 us, we see every trade making strenu- 

 ous efforts to get ahead. Take up the 



most obscure county paper, and every 

 trade is represented in its columns. 

 Our most successful merchants are the 

 ones who ' catch on ' to every advertis- 

 ing novelty to be used in the extension 

 of their business. Our fairs are the 

 red-hot centers of attraction and ad- 

 vertising, through all lines of business, 

 with the exception, perhaps, of bee- 

 keeping. 



" Probably the hardest thing for a 

 spirited bee keeper to bear, at the pres- 

 ent time, is the general belief that bee- 

 keeping is a small business, and that 

 any ninny who knows just enough to 

 chew gum, can successfully produce 

 honey ; and bee-keepers, as a rule, are 

 following a course of action to confirm 

 people in that belief ; for if a business 

 is not worth a little advertising effort, 

 it is not much of a business." 



It seems to me that a few bee-keepers 

 in each county where honey is pro- 

 duced can make it pay to be to the 

 necessary expense and trouble of mak- 

 ing a nice and attractive exhibit. To 

 be sure, it has to be " mixed with taste 

 and brains," and that is just what every 

 successful bee-keeper, or his wife, has 

 a supply of. See that the premiums 

 are enough to p«j/ expenses (which need 

 not be heavy), and trust to sales, etc., 

 for the " net proceeds." 



One thing has been fully demon- 

 strated by the exhibits of honey at 

 fairs, and that is, that bee-keeping is 

 fully abreast of other productive in- 

 dustries ; and when compared with 

 some, is much ahead in attractiveness 

 and value. 



The honey exhibition at the Ohio 

 Centennial Exposition at Columbus, 

 from Sept. 4 to Oct. 9, is not to be made 

 just for the money there is in it, but to 

 show the progress in bee-culture dur- 

 ing the last hundred years ; and it is 

 hoped that it will be the largest and 

 most attractive that has ever been held 

 in this country ; and, so far as I know, 

 those engaged in the matter have the 

 vim and push to do credit to the fra- 

 ternity. Just think of a building 36x80 

 fllled with the luscious God-given 

 sweet ! I have seen tons of honey piled 

 up at fairs that did not make as much 

 show as one-fourth the amount might 

 have been made to do. 



Auburndale, O. 



FOUL BROOD. 



What Prodiice§ It J — Sulphuric 

 Acid Treatment. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY WILLIAM KLINTWOKTH. 



It is easier to ask a question than to 

 answer it. We may have theories 

 upon certain things, but if our theories 

 are not founded upon facts that cor- 

 roborate our ideas, our theories have 

 no foundation, and are not worth much. 

 What creates foul brood V We might 

 ask, what creates sickness, such as 

 typhoid fever, yellow fever, and other 

 diseases that occur more in some locali- 

 ties than others V 



If we could see atmosphere, or the 

 production of decayed vegetation, in 



its true light, we would know more 

 about diseases than we do now. but 

 we know those things only in part. It 

 is clear to my mind that the same cause 

 produces chills and fever, yellow fever 

 and typhoid, and some other diseases ; 

 but how much of that substance it 

 takes to create a certain disease, cannot 

 be stated with any certainty. But after 

 it is developed it is not merely a dead 

 substance, but has life in itself, and 

 takes possession of its victim. Then 

 the question comes to us, what can we 

 do to kill that, and not hurt the bees 

 and brood V 



There are several things that will 

 destroy foul brood, but we cannot ap- 

 ply them. When a colony of bees has 

 foul brood, it not only affects the 

 brood, but bees and queen also, and 

 consequently they should then be fed, 

 or we will not always accomplish our 

 object. If I found foul brood among 

 my bees, I would feed them all, for it 

 would be hard to tell how soon it would 

 develop in those that I could not dis- 

 cern anything wrong, and at the same 

 time were diseased. 



How to Feed Sulplinric Acid. 



I will now describe how to feed sul- 

 phuric acid : Take 60 drops of sul- 

 phuric acid to one pint of water, and 

 add one pint of honey. Mix it thor- 

 oughly, and that will do to teed. I pre- 

 fer to feed from beneath, but if I could 

 not do so, I would take the bees and 

 frames out of the box. I would then 

 take 60 drops of sulphuric acid to one 

 pint of water, and wash the inside of 

 the box thoroughly with it, and then 

 put the bees back into the box, and 

 feed the best way I could with the 

 preparation. I have fed one quart of 

 it to one colony of bees inside of 24 

 hours. 



Tlie Fire Treatment of Foul Brood. 



I know that some who have had ex- 

 perience with foul brood, recommend 

 burning the bees, but I must confess 

 that I have failed to see it in that way. 

 Suppose I had only 3 or 4 colonies of 

 bees, and had discovered that they 

 were foul, I would then take them and 

 burn them, hives, bees, and all. The 

 question comes to me, what have I 

 gained by doing so y 



But suppose I had a larger number, 

 and tiud that some of them are foul, 

 and burn them ; and in a few days I 

 find some more, and do the same with 

 them, and I do so until I have burned 

 them all— where are my profits V I 

 keep bees for pleasure and profit. As 

 long as everything goes all right, I get 

 plenty of honey— 1 think much of my 

 bees. But when they get diseased, I 

 burn them alive ! Does that not look 

 hard ? 



But we say, " It can't be cured with 

 any certainly." How do we know ? 

 Have we tried everything that we can V 

 If I had foul brood among my bees, 

 and I had no other remedy, before I 

 would burn them, I would take the 

 bees and brush them off the comb into 

 a box, as if I would ship them. I would 

 take box, frames and all, except the 

 bees, and put them into a bleach box, 

 or a big dry-goods box. I would take a 

 half pound of sulphur, put it into an 



