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



H. H. Root, Assistant Editor. E. R. Root, Editor. A. L. Boyden, Advertising Manager. 



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



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



VOL. XL 



NOVEMBER 15, 1912 



NO. 22 



Editorial 



WHAT WILL THE WINTER BE? 



Last winter was, perhaj^s, the most se- 

 vere one that has been known in a period of 

 twenty j'ears. According to the general 

 law of average we can hardly expect an- 

 other winter as hard on bees. Indeed, it 

 would not be at all surjjrising if we should 

 have an open winter ! for a very cold winter 

 is apt to be followed by a mild one. 



XEW state organization for MASSACHU- 

 SETTS. 



The attention of our readers is called to 

 the effort that has been started in Massa- 

 eliusetts toward perfecting a State organi- 

 zation, details of which are given on an- 

 other page. We understand that ihis is the 

 forerunner of an organized effort among 

 beekeepers of the State to form a strong 

 organization, and wide interest is being 

 taken in it. 



BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA PROHIBITS IMPOR- 

 TATION OF HONEY. 



It has been reported {Rural Neiv-Yorker 

 for September 21) that the importati^i of 

 honey and second-hand bee-supi^lies is ab- 

 solutely prohibited in British South Af- 

 rica. The order against beeswax and 

 foundation, however, has been annulled, 

 following a permit from the Department 

 of Entomology. We presume that bees on 

 combs would be prohibited also. 



HORSE STUNG TO DEATH. 



As a rule, when newspapers get hold of 

 a case where some person or animal is 

 stung they exaggerate it so much in the 

 effort to make a "good story" that little 

 resemblance to the real incident is left. 

 However, in the New Holland Clarion^ a 

 weekly paper, a writeup appeared of a 

 horse left hitched close to some hives that 

 was stung so badly that it died. While we 

 question whether "the animal's head was 

 literally covered with bees, filling his nos- 

 trils and hanging from his nose in bunches 

 and ropes as they do from the hive on a 

 warm spring day," the incident as a whole 



ai^pears very reasonable, and serves as a 

 warning to those who may be so careless 

 as to hitch horses right in the line of flight 

 of bees to and from the hive. As this oc- 

 curred after the honey-floAV, undoubtedly, 

 it is no wonder that the horse by stamping 

 or switching its tail irritated the bees, so 

 that they made trouble at once. The horse 

 was so badly stung about the nose and 

 face that it died later. 



MORE ABOUT THE HARMLESS BEES. 



In our Oct. 15th issue we mendoned edi- 

 torially the so-called stingless bees, news- 

 paper comments concerning wliich have 

 been "boiler- jilated" over the country. Edi- 

 tor Digges, in the November issue of the 

 Beelieepers' Gazette, throws moiv light on 

 the question. The exploiter of these bees, 

 a Mr. Burrows, of Loughton, England, has 

 but nine colonies, and it is cjuite evident 

 that he has merely stumbled on to a strain 

 of bees that happen to be "so gentle that 

 a child can handle them with perfect safe- 

 ty" ! Mr. Burrows i^robably does not know 

 that the same might be said of almost any 

 gentle colony of Italians or Carniolans. 



.*! 0,000 WORTH OF HONEY RULED OUT BY 



CHIEF FOOD-INSPECTOR IN CINCINNATI. 



The food-inspection division of the health depart- 

 ment had many condemnations last week, according 

 to the report of Chief Food Inspector R. B. Blume. 

 The honey alone condemned is valued in the report 

 at $10,000. The report states that this, as well as 

 the other things condemned, were unfit for human 

 food. Besides the honey, here are some of the big 

 items of the report: 5801 dozen of eggs; 1442 

 pounds of poultry; 876 pounds of meat; 442 bush- 

 els of potatoes; 57 bushels of tomatoes; 23 tons of 

 cabbage; 33 crates of cantaloupes; 238 barrels of 

 apples; 37 bunches of bananas; 18 dozen cans of 

 canned goods, and last, but not least, 24,750 pounds 

 of peanuts. 



Tlie above clipping from the Cincinnati 

 Times-Star, sent us by one of our subscrib- 

 ers, Mr. Albin Platz, of Cincinnati, caused 

 us to write to Chief Inspector Blume for 

 particulars. His reply, which follows, ex- 

 plains itself: 



The condemnation of this honey was not due to 

 an adulteration or violation of the food laws ; but, 

 owing to a fire in one of our local storage houses, 

 the honey became damaged by being saturated with 



