Published by The A. I. Root Comjiany, Medina, Ohio 



]f. U. Root, Assistant Editor E. R. Root, Editor A. L. Boyden, Advertising Manager 



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



Enteral at the Postoftice, Medina, Ohio, as Second-class Matter 



VOL. 



JULY 15, 1911 



NO. 14 



dloitcDD^D 



We sliall ))e i)leasetl to get more reports 

 from those who have tried the steam-heated 

 uncapping-knife. If yon have one, let your 

 brother bee-keepers have the benefit of 

 your experience. 



CARBOLIC-ACID SOLUTION FOR THE PREVEN- 

 TION OF ROBBING. 



In this issue our eorresi)ondenl Mr. .1. E. 

 Crane speaks of the value of a carbolic-acid 

 solution for the prevention of robbing. If 

 what Mr. A. W. ( iates, of Hartford, Ct., says 

 of it is true (and we have no reason to ques- 

 tion his woril) the intelligent use of the drug 

 will prove a great boon to bee-keepers. 

 We would respectfully ask Mr. (iates and 

 Mr. Crane to describe exactly how they use 

 it in order to get the best results. 



OUR MOVING PICTURES. 



One of our subscribers objects to the way 

 our artist has been grouping some of our 

 " moving pictures." He characterizes some 

 of them as "jumbleti-up messes without 

 head or tail." We looked over some of our 

 late grouping, and see that the vital part of 

 each picture is jireserved. Where the ijic- 

 tures overlap we have covered up only that 

 portion that is unimi)ortant, or already 

 shown in another jiicture in the same se- 

 ies. Each picture in the grouj) is number- 

 ed, and our correspondents are instructed to 

 refer to each figure of the group and explain 

 what it all signifies. Hut the real object in 

 groui)ing is to save space. If any of our 

 subscribers have been confused by our 

 groujjing we hope they will tell us, for we 

 always court fair, honest, and frank criti- 

 cism. 



THK LARGEST EXTRACTOR .IN THE UNITED 

 STATES OR CANADA. 



Mr. R. E. Holtermann, of Brantford, 

 Ont., is the owner of the largest extracting- 

 outfit in the United States or Canada, if 

 not in the world. It is a twelve-frame auto- 

 matic reversing extractor run by a gasoline- 

 engine; and in connection with the extract- 

 or, and geared to it, is a centrifugal honey- 

 l)umi) that does ihe work of lifting and car- 

 rying the honey to a tank overliead or to 

 one side. This makes it possible lo have 



the extractor on the lioor of the extracting- 

 house — not elevated above it. In the bot- 

 tom of the nuiehine is a Holtermann strain- 

 er, and the top is covered with a protecting 

 shield. 



The editor has been invited to see this 

 whole thing in operation — that is, provid- 

 ing the railroad company will deliver the 

 outfit to him in time. At the last rejjort 

 the machine was lost somewhere in transit. 



MAKING OUR GOODS CORRESPOND WITH 

 OUR ADVERTLSING; is THERE SUCH A 

 STRAIN AS GOLDEN- ALL- 

 OVER BEES? 



On page 4o9 of this issue Mr. .T. E. Taylor 

 handles this wliole pro])osition in a most 

 masterly manner. In this itarticular case 

 the question all hinges on what is meant by 

 "golden-all-over Italians." Several of our 

 advertisers, without the least thought of de- 

 frauding, have used various catchy phrases 

 in describing their strains of bees — phrases 

 that are not ordinarily misleading or misun- 

 derstood. The facts are, we have seen a few 

 specimens of "golden-all-over Italians," 

 and some more of strictly five-banded bees, 

 in a colony that was advertised and sold as 

 five-banders. But when a customer receives 

 some beautiful yellow bees, 30 per cent of 

 which we will say are five-banders, 60 per 

 cent four-banders, and 10 ])er cent three- 

 banders, he is usually quite well satisfied, 

 because the so-called five-banders, as a lot, 

 present a most striking contrast in color and 

 markings to the orcUnary three-banded 

 leather Italians. He is so well i)leased with 

 the gene? a/ (ffect that he makes no com- 

 l)laint. Indeed, he does not even notice the 

 disparity between the four-banders antl five- 

 banders. In the same way, a customer who 

 orders and buys golden-all-over Italians is 

 usually quite Mell satisfied if there is a large 

 predominance of yellow in his bees. But 

 as our correspondent, Mr. Taylor, says else- 

 where, if one advertises "golden-all-over 

 Italian bees " he ought to make the explicit 

 statement that they are not yellow all over, 

 but only in part. 



In the same way those of us who advertised 

 a long-tongued strain of Italians might come 

 in for a fair share of criticism. While we 



