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117 



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AIHOS ITES ROOT. 



Among those who have assisted in mak- 

 ing the pursuit of bee-lieeping tlioroughly 

 practical, Mr. Amos I. Root is a prominent 

 figure, and it is but right and proper to here 

 record something of his past life. 



The engraving given on this page vyas 

 made especially for the American Bee 

 Journal, from a pliotograph taken at our 

 request, and this reproduction by the 

 " Ives " process, is, therefore, a faithful 

 representation of Mr. A. I. Root as he now 

 appears, and not as he looked 12 or 15 years 

 ago. 



The biography, written by Mr. Ernest R. 

 Root, the eldest son of Mr. A. I. Root, is as 

 follows: 



A. I. Root was born on Dec. 9, 1839, in a 

 log-house about two miles north of his pres- 

 ent business plant. He was a very frail 

 child, and his father had little hopes of 

 raising him, although the neighbors assured 

 him that his wife would not let him die. As 

 he grew older his taste for mechanics and 

 gardening became apparent. 



Among his early hobbies were poultry, 

 windmills, clocks, electricity, chemistry, 

 etc. He did not take kindly to feeding pigs, 

 or, for that matter, general farm work, al- 

 though he took particular delight in garden- 

 ing. One of the jobs which he disliked was 

 churning. Accordingly, to appease his me- 

 chanical turn of mind, and at the same time 

 relieve himself of an irksome task, he con- 

 structed a windmill. This was attached to 

 the churn, and the latter, in obedience to 

 the wind, soon converted the cream into 

 butter. 



At the early age of 18, he became so en- 

 thusiastic on the subject of chemistry and 

 electricity that he started out on a lecturing- 

 tour, with a fully equipped apparatus of his 

 own construction. Such an undertaking on 

 the part of a mere boy was rather unusual, 

 but he was not one of thekind who followed 

 In the wake of most other boys— indeed, he 

 was even called " peculiar." In spite of 

 difficulties, and in spite of discouragements, 

 he electrified his audiences, who sometimes 

 complimented him, and at other times were 

 disposed to make fun when his experiments 

 did not turn out just as he told them they 

 would. 



About this time he engaged the services 

 of one Samuel Bates, who acted as an as- 

 sistant, door-tender, etc. In one of their 

 journeys from one town to another, it be- 

 came necessary for them, as they thought, 

 to ford a stream. Young Root declared that 

 the water was too deep, and insisted upon 

 not undertaking it ; but his companion de- 

 clared that he would drive through alone, 

 as the horse and buggy was his property. 

 Accordingly the two boys, with the horse, 

 began to ford the stream. They very soon 

 got beyond their depth, and the horse, im- 

 peded by the wagon, sank ; and Bates, not 

 being able to swim, went down likewise. 

 Amos, who had acquired the art, swam for 

 the shore till he could swim no longer. With 

 presence of mind he sank down and crawled 

 toward the bank until out of the water. 

 Having first emptied the water from his 

 lungs he called for help, and then pushed a 

 rail out to a point where the receding ripple 

 showed his friend had just gone down, never 

 to return alive. This was not the first in- 

 stance in which Mr. Root saved his life by 

 swimming. 



While the.se tours among the people in the 

 interest of science did not enrich him pe- 

 cuniarily, it gave him an insight into human 



nature which doubtless has been of great 

 value to him in his subsequent life. Nor 

 was this the only course in the study of 

 human nature in his early experience. It 

 so happened that there was acountry school 

 (one of the pioneer style), which no teacher 

 had been able to teach through a whole 

 term. The big boys had boasted that they 

 could "lick and put out any teacher" the 

 directors might send, and heretofore they 

 were successful in carrying out the fullest 

 intent of their boasts. The last teacher, a 

 college graduate, after being forcibly 

 ejected from the building, cried because the 

 boys would not let him in again. 



When a young man of slight figure, in the 

 person of A. I. Root, applied for the school, 

 the directors accepterl him. I can assign no 

 reason for such acceptance, in the light of 

 former experience, unless it was the wiry 

 appearance and the determined face of the 

 new applicant. Everything went well for a 

 time in the school ; but finally one or more 

 of the big boys contrived to create a dis- 

 turbance. The result wa.s, the new teacher 



MR. A. I. SOOT. 



was overpowered by one of the brute forces. 

 The latter called out, " Come on, boys, let's 

 put him out." A. I. Root has a terrible 

 temper when aroused. Now furious, with 

 an almost superhuman effort he flung his 

 burly opponent over, and, before he could 

 recover himself, placed his foot upon him, 

 and demanded of him to lie still or suffer 

 the consequences. Young Root then asked 

 the other boys it they were ready to obey. 

 Order was restored, and the burly fellow 

 afterward became one of his best pupils. 

 Besides this, the teacher received the praise 

 of the directors. 



The next hobby of A. I. Root was clock- 

 work and jewelry. Having learned the 

 trade by paying .^25 00 for a course of in- 

 structions (occupying almost two whole 

 weeks), he decided to go into business. Ac- 

 cordingly he went to a friend and asked him 

 if he would loan him a sum of money for a 

 certain length of time. This friend gave 

 him some advice whirh he has been glad of 

 ever since. It was this : He would loan 

 him the money if he wished, but he urgently 

 advised him to wait a little and earn the 

 money by working for wages. Unlike most 

 boys, the embryo business man accepted the 

 latter, and his success in business lifeproves 

 the wisdom of the advice. 



Shortly after setting up in the jewelry 

 business, he was married (in 1861) to Miss 



Susan Hall. Imbued with a natural love 

 for his work, and endowed with almost 

 ceaseless energy and push, Mr. Root made 

 his business prosper. 



Ere long in the providences of time, a new 

 " rootlet" sprang forth, of which I am told 

 the parent branch was exceedingly proud. 

 That was in 1863, and the boy, now a man 

 grown, sometimes signs himself " Ernest." 



The business continued to prosper until 

 A. I. Root & Co. were among the largest 

 manufacturers of coin-silver jewelry in the 

 country. From f200 to $.500 in com were 

 weekly made into chains and rings. The 

 firm employed something over a dozen men 

 and girls in the manufacture of gold and 

 silver rings, chains, etc. 



In 1865 his daughter Maude, now Mrs. J. 

 T. Calvert, was born into the family. It 

 was about this time that the first swarm of 

 bees passed over his jewelry establishment. 

 As this, together with his other bee-keeping 

 experience, is tully given in the Introduction 

 to the " A B C," I omit it. 



About this time he began to write for the 

 American Bee Journai,, under the very 

 suggestive and appropriate nom de plume 

 of " Novice." In these essays, as some of 

 the old veterans will remember, he recount- 

 ed some of his failures, and some of his 

 successes with bees. The articles seemed 

 to take well, and, in the due course of time, 

 so many inquiries came in, that he resolved 

 to start a quarterly bee-paper, entitled. 

 Gleanings in Bee-Culture. No sooner was 

 the first issue put forth, than he determined 

 to make his little paper a monthly. 



Very soon after, the manufacture of bee- 

 keepers' supplies was begun in connection 

 with the jewelry business. With the wind- 

 mill as a motive power, and a buzz-saw, 

 " Novice," with the occasional assistance of 

 the writer, made Simplicity hives. Some- 

 times the wind would not blow, and orders 

 had to wait. I well remember on several 

 occasions of getting up in the night when a 

 breeze started up, to "help Pa" saw the 

 boards, I holding one end while he man- 

 aged the other. 



As orders began to come, it was thought 

 a foot-power buzz-saw would do what the 

 wind would not. A "Barnes " was ordered, 

 and wind and foot-pnwer were made to an- 

 swer for a while. To make a long story 

 short, the suoply-business continued to 

 grow at such a rate that a little engine was 

 ordered. This likewise was inadequate, 

 and finally it was found necessary to engage 

 a night force, and run night and day. 

 Things continued thus for a couple of sea- 

 sons, when the jewelry business and the 

 building "up town " was sold (1877), and in- 

 stead another, larger, was erected near the 

 depot. This is shown on the first page of 

 the "ABC of Bee-Culture." As the sub- 

 sequent growth of his business is already 

 given fully in the Introduction of the work 

 just mentioned, I omit it here also. 



In business matters he is prompt and de- 

 cisive. An array of complicatious often 

 arises in business, but his decision is prompt 

 and final. With remarkable celerity he will 

 grasp an idea or the gist of an article. The 

 rapidity with which he will transmit his 

 thoughts on paper is no less remarkable. 

 He will usually dictate four pages of solid 

 printed matter (5,000 words) in little over 

 an hour, and that, too, through interruptions 

 which he permits of clerks plying him with 

 business questions. 



While he is attending to his other business 

 the stenographer transcribes his thoughts 

 with a typewriter. Sometimes I think more 

 deliberation in dictating might be to his 

 advantage ; but he has not the time nor 

 strength. 



His activity is almost ceaseless, and his 

 energy often goes beyond the proper limits 

 of strength. He rises early in the morning, 

 and from that time on till bedtime he is 

 "constantly on the go." I have often de- 

 sired to see him sit on a hitching-post and 



