Published by Tlie A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio. 



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



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



Entered at the PostofiBce. Medina, Ohio, as Second-class Matter 



VOL. XXXIX 



MARCH 1, 1911 



NO. 5 



Editorial 



E. R. ROOT IN FLORIDA. 



By the time this issue reaches our sub- 

 scribers E. R. Root will be in Florida with 

 headquarters at Bradentown, where he has 

 temporarily removed his editorial sanctum. 

 He proposes to make a number of side trips 

 from Bradentown to a number of points in 

 Florida, equipped with notebook and cam- 

 era. Mr. Root will return to Medina about 

 the middle of March. 



SPRAYING FRUIT-TREES WHILE IN BLOOM. 



The article by C. E. Layman, in this 

 issue, page 139, is true, every word of it. 

 Lay this journal aside; mark the article, 

 and hand it to your neighbor fruit-grower 

 who sprays at the wrong time, or who im- 

 agines that your bees are damaging his 

 fruit. If you haven't any such neighbors, 

 cut it out and paste it in your scrap-book. 

 You may need it some time in the future. 



answering questions. 

 We are always glad to clear up any diffi- 

 culties that may exist in the minds of our 

 readers, especially the beginners, who can 

 not help being somewhat bewildered when 

 reading the multitude of different plans for 

 preventing this, that, and the other; but of 

 late, in quite a number of instances, we 

 have been unable to give satisfactory answers 

 for the reason that the questions were word- 

 ed in such a way that we could not possibly 

 tell what plan or method the beginner had 

 in mind. If the page and number of Glean- 

 ings are given in which the plan appeared, 

 or the name of the book, or other bee-jour- 

 nal, as the case may be, there need be no 

 misunderstanding. 



THE SIMMINS METHOD OF SHIFTING FLY- 

 ING BEES. 



Attention is drawn to the article on 

 page 132 of this issue by Samuel Simmins, 

 showing the method that he used as early 

 as 1893 for shifting the flying bees from 

 one hive to another to prevent swarming. 

 While the basic principle of this is the 

 same as that used by J. E. Hand, there is a 

 difTerence in the manner of carrying it out. 

 In the J. E. Hand arrangement the bees go 

 to precisely the same entrance after the 

 shift that they did before. In the Simmins 



hive they go to another entrance, but so 

 near the first one that they may almost be 

 considered the same. Both claim for their 

 adaptation of principle the control of 

 swarms and the continuous production of 

 comb honey. 



We have examined the references given 

 by Mr. Simmins, and find that all his 

 claims as to his early use of the idea are 

 sustained. We hope some of our readers 

 will be in a position to test these two plans 

 and report. 



ANOTHER COMB-HONBY CANARD FROM AN 

 UNEXPECTED SOURCE. 



When we attended the Indiana State 

 Bee-keepers' convention on the 2d of Feb- 

 ruary we paid our respects to the comb-hon- 

 ey canard because we knew that one or two 

 reporters were present, and we desired an 

 opportunity to impress on them the fact 

 that comb honey is not manufactured, nev- 

 er was, and that there was a reward of 

 $10,000 to prove the existence of such an 

 article as manufactured comb honey on the 

 market that would deceive an ordinary con- 

 sumer. Two of the Indianapolis papers 

 quoted us very accurately — the Indianapolis 

 Star and the Indianapolis News; but the 

 Indianapolis San of Feb. 4 put it out in this 

 fashion: 



A talk by B. R. Root, editor and lecturer, held the 

 attention of the Association. IMr. Root encouraged 

 the growing of alfalfa, but condemned the manu- 

 facture of honey. He said he believed most of ihe 

 coml) honey is manufactured and not produced by 

 the bee. 



Of course, we are writing a protest, and 

 we respectfully urge the Indiana bee-keep- 

 ers, at least, to follow it up. It is bad 

 enough to have an ordinary item in a paper 

 telling about manufactured comb honey; 

 but it is infinitely worse when one of the ed- 

 itors of one of the leading bee journals is 

 quoted as implying that comb honey is 

 manufactured, and that he condemns the 

 practice, etc. 



the swelling and shrinkage op 



BOARDS. 



We have been making some experiments 

 in testing the " come and go " of boards, es- 

 pecially those composing the covers and 

 bottom-boards when placed under different 

 conditions. For example, both of these ar- 

 ticles, after being made up and put in hot 

 water, are kept there for 24 hours. They 

 are then put on top of a radiator for the ex- 

 press purpose of determining the amount of 

 shrinkage that will take place as well as the 

 checking and warping. While this is a 



