1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



31 



''There is just this about 



it," vSaid Mr. Prosperous Beekeeper 

 to the neighborly Novice who had 

 dropped in for an afternoon chat, 



uy^ 



'OU can run 

 along very 

 well in a 



way producing 



comb honey, and 



feel perfectly satis- 

 fied with the profits 



of your season's 



work while you 



meet the exacting 

 conditions of comb-honey production: but if you 

 are ambitious, if you enjoy bee-keeping, have the 

 location and the inclination, then take m.v advice 

 — adopt all ten-frame hives, buy a good extractor, 

 and go into the business on a broad scale. And 

 let me say a word on this subject of extractors. I 

 feel I am entitled to give a little advice, for I am 

 still using the Novice honey-extractor I purchased 

 from A. I. Root twenty-six years ago." 



"Twenty -six years!" exclaimed 

 our beginner in bee-keeping: "why, 

 that's a pretty long time to use any 

 machine, isn't it?" 



"Well, yes," replied Mr. P. B.: 

 "but it's about nine-tenths in the 

 machine, you know, and the other 

 tenth in the man who keeps it up," 

 he answered, with a twinkle in his 

 eye. " You see, when I bought this 

 machine (it is one of two I am us 

 ing) I calculated to get the best 

 they had, and I guess I did it. 

 Quite a few new-fangled notions 

 have been added to the Root ex- 

 tractor of to-day, and they are im- 

 provements too, though we old fel- 

 lows are pretty conservative some- 

 times, and it takes a lot of arguin' 

 to convince us that every thing 

 new is best. But come into my 

 honey-house. I want to show you 

 my new extractor. She's a dandy, 

 I can tell you, and sucks the honey 

 out of the coml) like some of them 

 long-tongued bees you've hearn tell 

 of. Just see if you don't think this 

 machine will last me twenty - six 

 years," said Mr. P. B., as he and the Novice entered 

 the honey-house together. "Never saw a better- 

 built piece of machinery in my life— solid, well- 

 braced, well-finished inside and out: large honey- 

 gate down here so that you can't clog her, no mat- 

 ter how fast you are handling combs: and. what I 

 like best of all, is these little ball-bearing arrange- 

 ments at the top and bottom of the reel. You 

 won't believe that they make so much diflference, 

 may be, until you try: but come over here some 

 day when I am extracting and take a turn for a few 

 hours on the faithful Novice extractor; then try 

 this modern contraption. I'll bet the best queen 

 I've got in the South yard you'll swear by ball 

 bearings for ever afterward." 



"What's this lever up here on the crank frame? 

 asked the Novice of his entertaining friend." 



"Oh! well, I should say yes," replied P. B.: "that's 

 one of the slickest things you ever saw— the revers- 

 ing lever. I had read quite a little about how this 

 worked before I went down to Root's and saw it 

 work; but I was a little shy at first on getting a 

 machine with too many improvements all at once. 



THE sequel of this dialog— founded upon true statements taken from 

 original letters on file in our office— is the detailed description of the 

 ROOT AUTOMATIC HONEY-EXTRACTORS contained In our 1911 

 catalog of bee-supplies, and the booklets. "Power Extractors" and ''How 

 to Produce Extracted Honey;" all of which may be had free tor the asking, 

 together with answers to any other <iuestions that may occur to you. 



THE A. I. ROOT COMPANY, MEDINA, OHIO 



20 Vesay Sireel, New York City 213-231 Inatitute Place, Chicago 



I felt that. If a common Novice extractor of the 

 earliest pattern had stood by me for more than a 

 quarter of a century I needn't be so particular 

 about gettin' any thing that would last more'n 

 tweniy-flve years more; but when I saw the way 

 this thing finished up one side of the comb, then, 

 flash like that" (and P. B. threw the lever down, 

 with the result that the comb-frames gracefully 

 slowed down and turned the other side toward the 

 extractor walls) "well, I-wanted it— that's all, and 

 here it is, giving me better service than the old 

 machine, and with a whole lot less effort too. 

 Why! with this machine I put in my first set of 

 combs; start the machine going with very little 

 effort, and, after a few revolutions, let 'er coast 

 along without me for a few minutes— does It with- 

 out power after I've given a few good turns (that's 

 the ball bearings), and I have time to uncap a new 

 set of combs ready for the next load, and hardly 

 lose a minute. 



" I want to tell you, Mr. Novice, 

 this honey business is all right, and 

 a good proposition. I've been in 

 the game long enough, and ain't 

 making no complaint, for this 

 place of mine's paid for — every 

 last dtfllar- and the boys and girls 

 are iM^fty well fixed so far's educa- 

 tion and comforts of life go; but 

 you've got to know what's right 

 and take up with every thing good 

 that will help along. The bee-keep- 

 er who tries to work modern meth- 

 ods with old-time ideas, or who 

 thinks he can just as well drag 

 along a year or two more with 

 what he's got, be It good or bad. is 

 sliding backward. There's very lit- 

 tle chance for hina, and I ain't 

 slightin' my own Novice extractor 

 either. That machine was good 

 enough for a long time — best I 

 could get, I guess, and better'n 

 many of 'em to-day : but when you 

 compare that extractor with my 

 new Root Automatic — well, you 

 would not need to see— you could 

 feel the difference. Next year I'm going to rear- 

 range my honey-house, put in a small gasoline- 

 engine, and turn that extractor with power. I saw 

 how they do it at Medina, and this Root catalog 

 tells about it too. I figure Til save a few hours on 

 every job, and with quite a little saving on myself 

 too, and I'm gettin' too old to do any unnecessary 

 turns. 



"Goln', eh? Well, 

 drop in again — 

 come round when 

 I'm puttin' some 

 combs through, 

 and I'll let you 

 learn all about this 

 extractor problem 

 in a practical way," 

 said Mr. P. B., as he 

 chuckled, and our 

 young friend clos- 

 ed the gate. 



