118 



*:tmW MBffiERICffiPf ®M® JO^RIfMI,. 



" take it a little easy just for two minutes," 

 but he never lias accorded me the pleasure, 

 and it is not at all likely he ever will. He 

 says he would " rather wear out than rust 

 out;" but if the Lord wills, he will do 

 neither just now. 



To rest, in the sense of Inactivity, is out 

 of the question. That this constant activity, 

 and the wear and worry of a large wholesale 

 and retail business, has necessitated rest, 

 bis ill health plainly shows. Young blood, 

 in the personages ot J. T. Calvert, Mr. J. S. 

 Warner, your humble servant, and others, 

 has, within the last three or four years, 

 very materially lightened his labors. 



Besides the two older children, are Con- 

 stance, Caddie, and, last of all, Huber. This 

 sketch would be incomplete were 1 to omit 

 mention of the many ways that his faithful 

 wife has helped him, in her own quiet, un- 

 assuming way, to bear up under his self- 

 imposed tasks ; nor should 1 forget to lay 

 some of the credit to his good old mother, 

 who still survives. It was she who gave 

 him his early Christian instruction, and who 



E rayed for him many years before he gave 

 is heart to God. 



Some things concerning the life of Mr. 

 Root I have omitted, because they have 

 been given before. But I must confess, I 

 have not been scrupulously modest in writ- 

 ing up the facts. 1 have simply told them 

 from the stand-point of another man's son. 

 Without making any apology, 1 will, there- 

 fore, sign myself Ernest. 



It is now nearly 14 years ago that we made 

 our first visit to Medina, O., for the purpose 

 of having an interview with Mr. A. I. Root. 

 He was then in the jewelry business, and 

 had just branched out a little by making a 

 few apiarian supplies, by the aid of the 

 windmill at the top of the building in which 

 the store was located. 



We had corresponded some, but had never 

 met. Upon entering the store we inquired 

 for Mr. Root ; he came forward, and we 

 gave our name, shook hands, and com- 

 menced to chat. Mr. Root took us for Mr. 

 S. F. Newman, of Norwalk, O. Upon being 

 corrected as to our identity, he said, "Now 

 let us shake hands and begin over again." 

 We chatted about the Ajieuicai* Bee 

 JoxjKNAL and Olcanings, the bees, the pur- 

 suit of bee-keeping, etc., and he remarked 

 that he admired the excellent typographical 

 appearance of the Bee Journal, and 

 hoped some future time to be able to have 

 Oleanings printed equally well, and then he 

 would be satisfied. Well, Bro. Root has 

 "got there," &nd Olcanings is now printed 

 in a style which is an honor to the craft. 



Bro. Root is to be congratulated upon the 

 success of his periodical— G/codi/igs in 

 Bee-Culture. When it was started in 1873, it 

 contained but 8 poorly printed pages, and 

 was published quarterly. Now it contains 

 32 pages and a cover, and is published twice 

 a mouth— well edited, beautifully printed, 

 and richly illustrated. Every volume is 

 valuable, and is in our library in substan- 

 tial binding. 



We have had business relations with Mr. 

 Root for 15 years, and during that time we 

 have had a settlement every month (with 

 only one or two exceptions, and then " for 

 good and suftieient reasons") and the bal- 

 ance has always been promptly received or 

 paid, as the account required. We have 

 never had an unpleasant word on finances. 



Mistakes have been made, but with both 

 parties anxious only to be right, they have 

 been readily adjusted. The monthly bal- 

 ances have often been over a hundred dol- 

 lars, but the accounts were settled just as 

 promptly as if the balances were only a 

 dollar. 



If this were the rule among bee-keepers, 

 how much more pleasant it would be to do 

 business ! To get a settlement with some is 

 almost an impossibility ; with others it is so 

 lingering as to be disgusting, while others 

 refrain from a settlement until all amicable 

 relations are suspended, and they are 

 literally forced to pay. Let all such copy 

 the example of friend Root, and prosperity, 

 like his, may result to them. 



The Temperature Inside and 

 Outside of a Bee-House. 



Wi-lttcn for the American Bee Journal 



Query 614.— What should be the outside 

 temperature, as compared with the tempera- 

 ture in a bee-house, when it is necessary to 

 open the doors to cool off the bees ? In my 

 experience it should be 10* colder outside 

 than inside ; otherwise It ia an injury.— Mo. 



From 8° to 10° colder.— H. D. Cut- 

 ting. 



I think that you are about right. — 

 A. J. Cook. 



I have had no experience in this 

 matter. — Eugene Secor. 



I have had no experience with bee- 

 houses, and so I must say that I do 

 not know. — C. H. Dibbern. 



The idea shoidd be to preserve an 

 even temperature in the bee-houso, re. 

 gardless of what it is outside. — J. P. 

 H. Brown. 



I think that it could be done with 

 safety when about 50° outside. — P. L. 



VlALLON. 



You may be right. I have no prac- 

 tical experience that would shed any 

 light. — J. M. Hambaugh. 



My experience is just like yours. 

 The fresh air seems to be of no use, 

 but on the other hand, it excites and 

 arouses the colonies. — James Heddon. 



I do not see whatdifl'erence it makes 

 about the outside temperature, if it is 

 only colder than the inside. — A. B. 

 Mason. 



You have answered your own query 

 a great deal better than I could do it, 

 as I practice out-door wintering, with 

 the best results. — Will M. Barnum. 



I have had no experience with a bee- 

 house, Init I do not see whj- the differ- 

 ence should be just 10°. — C. C. Miller. 



If your bee-house is properly con- 

 structed and properly ventilated, it 

 will never be " necessarj' to open the 



doors to cool off the bees." — Mrs. L. 

 Harrison. 



I have had no experience with the 

 ventilation of a bee-house. I have 

 tried in-door wintering with a few col- 

 onies, but lost every one of them. — 

 M. Mahin. 



It would not be safe to proceed on 

 that theory. If it were 60° inside, and 

 50° outside, opening doors would be 

 likely to do injury ; but if it were 45° 

 inside, and 40° outside, it would not. 

 — R. L. Taylor. 



This seems to me to be a theoretical 

 question tliat cannot be answered posi- 

 tively. While bees are quiet, let them 

 alone ; when not quiet, cool off the 

 cellar. If there is any certain rule, I 

 should like to know it myself. — J. E. 

 Pond. 



Build an under-ground special re- 

 pository, which will need no such fuss- 

 ing to keep the required temperature. 

 Mine varies only from 43° to 46° dur- 

 ing the whole winter. When I used a 

 cellar under the house, I kept the 

 temperature down by carrying ice or 

 snow into the cellar. — G.M.Doolittle. 



Do not trouble about the outside. 

 Hang the thermometer inside, on a 

 level with the lower tier of hive, and 

 see that it records about 45° regularlj'. 

 If it gets warmer than that in the cel- 

 lar, "cool "it; if it gets colder than 

 that, warm it. Take care of the inside 

 — do not fret about how cold it may be 

 out-doors. — J. M. Shuck. 



I do not think that it is necessarj' to 

 open the doors of a winter repository 

 to " cool off" the bees. The air should 

 be admitted from an adjoining room, 

 if practicable, and if not, the air 

 should be let in slowly until the tem- 

 perature is lowered sutficiently to quiet 

 the bees. It is the habit of my bees to 

 sink into repose when the temperature 

 goes down, and to arouse themselves 

 and become active when the tempera- 

 ture goes up. But some bee-keepers 

 are trying to reverse this habit. — G. 

 W. Demaeee. 



If proper methods of ventilation are 

 provided when the bee-house is con- 

 structed, the temperature can be con- 

 trolled without opening outside doors. 

 But if such are opened, it shoidd be 

 some colder outside to be of value. 

 The temperature should be kept at 

 about 45°. — The Editor. 



ConTeDtion IVotices. 



J^- There will be a meeting of the Susqaehanna 

 County Bee-Keepers' Association at tbe Court House 

 in Montrose, Pa., on Saturday, May 4. iN^ii.at lo a.m. 



H. M. SKELKY, S«C. 



^^ The nth annual session of the Texas State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association will be held in the apiary 

 of W. R Graham, of Greenville. Hunt Co., Tex., on 

 May 1 anfl -1, IWH. All bee-keepers are invited. The 

 last meeting was held here last May, and was the 

 best ever held. So we loolt forward to a »rood lime 

 next May. A cordial welcome and hospitality will 

 be tendered to all who come. G. A. Wilson, Sec. 



