Piibli.slied fjy 'Jhe A. J. Root Co., Medina, Ohio. 

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



A. I. Root, Editor Home Department. J. T. CaIiVEET, Business Mgr. 



VOL. XLII. 



FEBRUARY 1, 1914 



NO. 3 



Editorial 



OHIO EEEKEEPKRS, TAKE NOTICE. 



We wish to call the attention of Ohio 

 beekeepers to the program (as given on 

 page 119 of this is.sue) of (lie convention to 

 be held at Athens, February 12 and 13. We 

 know that no eifort has been spared to make 

 (his meeting a great success. E. R. Root 

 will be in Florida at that time, but H. H. 

 Root expects to be present. 



RAIXS IN CALIFORNIA. 



Just as we go to press we have the fol- 

 lowing from Mr. Chadwick, our correspon- 

 dent in California: 



We have just had a four-inch rain, and our pros- 

 pects are much brightened in consequence. Mendle- 

 son says that we shall get the largest honey crop in 

 years, the winter having been open and warm. 



The morning papers to-day, Jan. 27, are 

 telling of a terrible rainstorm yesterday in 

 parts of Southern California — the worst 

 ever known. We doubt whether so much 

 water falling at once will do as much good 

 as it would if it came more slowly; but 

 certainly from the beekeepers' standpoint 

 the outlook is the most promising of any 

 season in recent years. 



bees and poppies. 

 For the past few months there has ap- 

 peared in the newspapers in various forms 

 a story of bees becoming stupefied by work- 

 ing on i)oi>j>y blossoms. The various items 

 have included the names of different parties, 

 and certain details have been so obviously 

 exaggerated that we have thus far given the 

 matter very little thought. During a recent 

 conversation with A. H. Berno, of Mans- 

 field, Ohio, he said that last season on sev- 

 eral different occasions when his bees were 

 bringing in honey rapidly he found them 

 working on poppias; and each time, after 

 about a day, he said he could see a large 

 number of bees lying about on the ground 

 near the poppies, unable to fly, which bees, 

 however, would finally recover and gener- 

 ally get back to the hives by night. He cut 

 down the poppies, and in about a week the 

 bees were working again as usual. 



Mr. Berno is the florist at the Ohio State 

 Reformatory, and he has had considerable 

 exjjerience with bees as well as with flowers. 

 If others of our readers have had oppor- 

 tunities for making similar observations we 

 should be glad to hear from them. 



PKOF. A. J. COOK vindicated. 



When an honest and capable man' tries 

 to do his duty fairly and impartially, in a 

 public office, especially if he does not favor 

 some chronic office-seekers, he is pretty sure 

 of inviting a fusilade of attacks. Prof. 

 Cook, ever since he has taken the position 

 of State Horticulturist of California, has 

 had criticisms of one form and another 

 hurled at him at different times. Matters 

 finally came to a culmination recently, dur- 

 ing which the opposition called a hearing 

 before the Governor. Xot a single charge 

 was proven true. Prof. Cook was thorough- 

 ly vindicated on every point. 



Our readers will be glad to know this, 

 because Prof. Cook has been so well and so 

 favorably known for so many years back 

 by the entire beekeeping world. 



LESS WATER USED IN MAKING HARD CANDY. 



The following note from C. H. Howard, 

 Boston, Mass., came in too late for insertion 

 elsewhere in this issue, and we thought best, 

 therefore, to give it here as some might like 

 to trv' the plan that he suggests in making 

 candy for use late this winter. 



In your recipe for making hard candy you say, 

 " Into a dish of hot water on ths stove pour an equal 

 amount of sugar, stirring constantly." I have made 

 hard candy for bee-feedin? for years, and do as you 

 say, with this difference: I use one part water to six 

 part-s of sugar, and usually boil from five to ten 

 minutes. I think you will find it quite a saving of 

 time if you try this amount of water. 



We tried using less water than the amount 

 stated in the directions in our January 1st 

 issue, but we had difficulty in getting all the 

 sugar dissolved at once. If any sugar re- 

 mains undissolved by the time boiling com- 

 mences, the candy is sure to crystallize. It 

 is true that it takes a little longer time to 

 evaporate this extra amount of water, but 



