CSbantngfi tn Tin fflutar^ 



Published by The A. I. Root Co., Medina, 0. 



A. I. Root, Editor Home Department. J. T. Calvert, Business Manager. 



H. H. Root, Assistant Editor. E. B. Root, Editor. A. L. Bovden, Advertising Manager. 



Entered at the Postoffice, Medina, O., as Second-class matter. 



VOL. XVI. 



AUGUST 15, 1913. 



NO. 16 



Editorial 



The Western Beekeeper, edited by Geo. 

 L. Emerson, has, we believe, come to stay. 

 It is certainly representing the Western 

 producer. 



THE MAN WHO INTRODUCED THE FENCE 

 SYSTEM. 



On page 576 of this issue will be found 

 a breezy article by S. A. Niver. He is the 

 man who introduced to the editor the fence 

 system and sections, as used by his brother- 

 in-law, the late Miles Morton, of York 

 State. There is a sparkle of good humor 

 in Mr. Niver's makeup. We are delighted 

 to know that he is now back to his old love, 

 the bees. 



THE EDITOR OF THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 

 ON A TRIP THROUGH EUROPE. 



Mr. C. p. Dadant,. of Dadant & Son, edi- 

 tor of the American Bee Journal, is now 

 making a tour through Europe to study 

 European beekeeping and the various races 

 of bees. There is, perhaps, no man in the 

 United States who is better qualified to 

 make this kind of investigation. As the 

 French language is his native tongue, and 

 French is universal throughout all Europe, 

 he will be able to make his way everywhere 

 understandingly. The result of his findings 

 will be given later on in the American Bee 

 Journal. There is no man better qualified 

 to bridge American and European beekeep- 

 ing than Mr. Dadant, and our congratula- 

 tions are extended to our contemporary. 



OUR COVER PICTURE. 



Taking the country as a whole, in the 

 localities where sweet clover gxows, we 

 think there has never been such a luxuriant 

 growth as there has been this year. The 

 bloom began early, encouraged by frequent 

 rains, and the bees took advantage of it at 

 once. It is probable that there is no great 

 amount of nectar at any one time in the 

 sweet-clover blossoms; for very often, in 

 spite of the abundant growth, the bees do 

 not get very much surplus. In some local- 

 ities, on the other hand, it yields quite a 

 crop. The chief value of the plant is in 

 supplying enough nectar to keep up brood- 



rearing at a time when there is little else 

 the bees can get. 



Our cover picture for this issue shows the 

 luxuriant growth of sweet clover along the 

 bank of Rocky River at our "Waterworks" 

 yard, about three miles east of Medina. 

 When all the States become educated to the 

 value of sweet clover, as a few have done, 

 it will no longer be known anywhere as a 

 noxious weed, and beekeepers will reap 

 some of the benefit. 



A post-graduate course in BEEKEEPING. 



J. E. Crane says, " Inspecting is as good 

 as a post-graduate coui-se in beekeeping," 

 and Crane is right. We have been helping 

 our State Foul-brood Inspector, carrying 

 him about in a machine from place to place. 

 We have learned something about bees and 

 a good deal more about farmer beekeepers 

 that we did not know before. We have seen 

 some of the queer things that bees will do 

 when the owner neglects them and gives 

 them a ramshackled box in place of a good 

 hive. Incidentally we have learned some- 

 thing about human nature, and more about 

 a combination of beekeeping and farming. 

 Sometimes they do not go well together, 

 and at other times they make a splendid 

 combination, providing the women and 

 children take care of the bees while the 

 " man of the house " is in the field. We 

 have run across some delightful farmer bee- 

 keepers — some that are clear up to date. 

 They read every tiling that is going on with 

 bees; they have all the honey they can eat, 

 and a g'ood deal to sell. 



If some of the old-timers think they know 

 it all, let them go out a day or two Avith 

 their State Inspector, and see if they do 

 not learn something new about bees. 



enormous demand for bees and queens. 

 A LARGE number of complaints have come 

 in concerning various queen-breeders, be- 

 cause they have not been able to make 

 prompt delivery on queens. One customer 

 went so far as to say that he wanted Mi*. 

 (one of the most reliable queen-breed- 

 ers) " shown up." As nearly as we can 



