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. R. Root, Editor. A. L. Boyden, Advertising Manager. 



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



VOL. XVI. 



SEPTEMBER 1, 1913. 



NO. 17 



Editorial 



THE COVER PICTURE. 



The front cover of this issue shows in the 

 background our Ault sidehill apiary where 

 Inspector Morris made the remark that he 

 would have to saw oft" one of his legs and 

 splice it on to the other in order to inspect 

 the bees. The sidehill is so steep that the 

 cattle can not go up it if they would. The 

 yard faces the south; and during cool or 

 chilly days these bees will gather nectar or 

 pollen when there is little or nothing doing 

 at the other yards. The picture was taken 

 with a Telephoto lens a considerable dis- 

 tance away. 



ARRANGING DATES OF CONVENTIONS SO THEY 

 WILL NOT CONFLICT. 



In our last issue, page 558, in the editor- 

 ial department, we suggested that the Na- 

 tional Beekeepers' Association make some 

 arrangement whereby the time of holding 

 the various State and local conventions 

 could be arranged on consecutive dates to 

 enable certain prominent beekeepers to at- 

 tend one or more of these meetings. We sent 

 a proof of this editorial to Dr. Gates, and 

 received his reply too late to be incorporat- 

 ed with the editorial above mentioned. 



Dear Mr. Root: — I have just received the proof 

 of your editorial concerning circuit conventions. It 

 is excellent. I presume you were not present when 

 a similar scheme was proposed at Cincinnati. I 

 brought up the question of a series of meetings on 

 consecutive dates in different quarters of the coun- 

 try under the auspices of the National. It seems to 

 me this should be one of its chief functions. I re- 

 call Mr. Dadant's remarks in reply to what I said, 

 but the time was not opportune to take action. 



In Massachusetts, where monthly meetings are 

 held, it could be well arranged to have one of these 

 under the auspices of the National. I think this 

 would be quite agreeable to the local societies. In 

 fact, I am now planning a circuit of local meetings 

 under the auspices of the State Beekeepers' Associa- 

 tion with which the local associations are affiliated. 



I am taking opportunity to present to the Direc- 

 tors your suggestion for their consideration as soon 

 as it shall have appeared. Have you any details as 

 to the machinery I could utilize 1 



Amherst, Mass., July 28. B. N. Gates. 



If the secretaries of the various State 

 and local associations will correspond with 

 Dr. Gates we feel satisfied that the scheme 

 of dating could be aii'anged so that Dr. 



Phillips, for example, of tlie Bureau of En- 

 tomology, could attend several important 

 meetings instead of one or two as in the 

 past. By the vfaj, Dr. Phillips did not 

 make this suggestion, but we believe that 

 many of our States would be able to secure 

 his attendance if the dates were made con- 

 secutive. 



THE APICULTURAL EXHIBIT SHOWN AT THE 



AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AT AMHERST_, 



MASS. 



On page 434, of July 1st issue, in giving 

 our report of the State convention of Mass- 

 achusetts beekeepers at Amherst we refer- 

 red to some very interesting exhibits that 

 were prepared by Dr. Burton N. Gates and 

 his students at the apicultural school. These 

 exhibits were placed in one of the large 

 rooms, and comprised a large list of bee- 

 keepers' supplies from several manufactur- 

 ers, various apicultural novelties, old relics 

 of bygone days, and bees and honey in vari- 

 ous forms. This was one of the most in- 

 structive and elaborate exliibits of bee sup- 

 plies and bee products that was ever given 

 in the United States. The hope is that Dr. 

 Gates may arrange to have a similar ex- 

 hibit for the National convention the com- 

 ing fall or winter. 



Elsewhere in this issue we have given 

 several views showing the exhibits as they 

 were shown at Amherst. The only regret is 

 that thousands instead of hundreds of bee- 

 keepers could not have seen it. As it is, we 

 aie trying to show it to thousands on paper. 

 See pages 607, 608, and 609 this issue. 



THE PREVENTION OP SWARMING IN THE PRO- 

 DUCTION OF COMB honey; HOW IT CAN 

 BE REDUCED TO TWO OR THREE PER 

 CENT WITH REGULAR STANDARD 

 HIVES. 



A YEAR or SO ago we illustrated Mr. Ver- 

 non Burt's scheme for the prevention of 

 swarming when running for comb honey. 

 At that time Mr. Burt was very much 

 pleased, saying that he believed it would 

 solve the swarming problem for him. The 

 plan is, in brief, nothing more nor less than 

 putting four %-in. blocks under each corner, 



