March i5, 1914 



211 



treatment. In this case the operation is re- 

 versed, and the bees are shifted back into 1, 

 in which conditions that favor swarming do 

 not exist. The second shift will not be nec- 

 essary in an ordinary harvest from clover 

 and basswood. This method is positive in 

 operation and results, and is superior to 

 any other method of swarm control that I 

 have tried ; furthermore, it will cure an or- 



dinary case of foul brood, while the shake- 

 swarm method as usually practiced will 

 have a tendency to scatter it broadcast. 

 There are many ways in which this simple 

 equipment may be utilized for the econom- 

 ical control of bees by mechanical means, 

 but this article is limited to swarm man- 

 agement. 



Birmingham, 0. 



A NEW JERSEY HONEY SPECIALIST 



BY E. G. CARR 



C. H. Root, of Red Bank, 

 N. J., the only producer in 

 the State who devotes his 

 entire time to the business. 



About 15 years 

 ago a SAvarm of 

 bees alighted near 

 a wood - working 

 shop of Mr. C. H. 

 Root, at Red 

 Bank, Monmouth 

 Co., and then was 

 started a beekeep- 

 ing career which 

 has been one of if 

 not the most suc- 

 cessful in New 

 Jersey. Mr. Root 

 is a skilled wood- 

 worker, and at 

 the time had a 

 number of em- 

 ployees, and had 

 given such close 

 a p p lication t o 

 had become im- 

 for him to 



business that his health 

 paired, making it necessary 

 abandon his regular work. 



Having always been very active he quick- 

 ly realized that idleness would not be desir- 

 able, and that some light work would be 

 beneficial. He began to inquire into the 

 possibilities of beekeeping as a business. 

 He early realized the importance of avoid- 

 ing costly fads and mistakes, and adopted 

 the plan of appealing to a beekeeper in 

 whom he had utmost confidence when any 

 problem or new plan presented itself. 



Living in a city of 8000 population, Mr. 

 Root at once adopted the small outyard sys- 

 tem, and has since successfully kept to this 

 plan. He now operates about 300 colonies 

 in eight yards, situated in all directions 

 from Red Bank from l^/^ to 8 miles dis- 

 tant. These are all on the premises of 

 fruit, berry, and vegetable growers who ap- 

 preciate the good services of the bees and 

 are glad to have them there, a number of 

 them having requested that the bees be so 

 placed. Five of the yards are worked for 

 extracted and three for comb honey. The 



comb-honey yards ai'e successfully run on 

 the Doolittle plan. Mr. Root tinds that 

 shaking "a la Doolittle," however, will not 

 always pi-event swarming, particularly if 

 the colony has contracted the swarming 

 fever previous to the shaking. 



Eight-frame hives with Hoifman frames 

 are used in two yards, and ten-frame hives 

 in the others, the ten-frame size being pre- 

 ferred. The 4^ square plain sections with 

 fences are used for the comb-honey work. 

 Only the necessary tools are kept at each 

 yard, and the honey is hauled home for ex- 

 tracting, and for grading and packing. 



Previous to 1913 a bicycle was used to 

 visit the yards, and a horse and wagon to 

 do the hauling; but this season a Ford run- 

 about is being used with perfect satisfac- 

 tion, both for visiting yards and for the 

 hauling, Mr. Root having built what he 

 calls tlie working body, which he uses, just 

 back of the seat in place of the regular 

 equipment. This is quickly detachable. 



The entire work is done by Mr. Root 

 alone — not only the producing but also the 

 packing of the comb honey. The entire 

 crop of extracted honey, with the excep- 

 tion of about 50 one-gallon cans, is put up 

 in 1/2, 1, and 2 pound jars. The crop for 

 1912 was nearly ten tons. 



It would be difficult to find a more par- 

 ticular honey-producer. All hives are put 

 together with painted joints, and the same 

 degree of thoroughness is characteristic of 

 all his work. An equipped wood-working 

 shop, and his skill and connection with the 

 lumber trade, enable Mr. Root to make his 

 bottom-boards, hive-stands, covers, and 

 winter cases, and no factory-made goods 

 could excel them. He does not think it 

 would pay him to make hive-bodies or 

 frames. 



A summer visit to Mr. Root's yards will 

 show an idea which appears to be original 

 with him. The summer hive-covers are of 

 the telescoping type, three inches deep and 

 of half-inch material; but instead of being 



