398 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May, 1917 



ever since, along in tlie 70's, I saw your advertise- 

 ment in good old Orange Jiidd's American Agricul- 

 lurist, " Friends, if any of you are interested in bees 

 or honey, write to A. I. Root, Medina, Ohio." 



That was a turning-point in my life, for I took 

 the genuine bee-fever from reading your literature, 

 and then followed fast the ups and downs in my 

 beekeeping career. Many errors and mistakes I 

 made — among them sending you an order of over 

 five hundred dollars for chaff hives in the Qui — hives 

 that proved a perfect nuisance; then the putting in 

 of nearly 1000 colonies of bees in Simplicity hives 

 with their beveled edges, and thin-topped metal-cov- 

 ered frames that sagged so when filled with brood or 

 honey-;— costly mistakes to me, but unavoidable in the 

 evolution of the times and profession. 



I do not believe I have had any jaersonal commu- 

 nication with you since I have come out here to this 

 wonderful country, now nearly two years. I should 

 have preferred Florida; but " as a number of my 

 children were out here, and the others preferred Cal- 

 ifornia to Florida, and I wanted to be with them, I 

 came here, and do not in the least regret it. We 

 are situated in the suburbs of Los Angeles, tho our 

 postoffice is San Gabriel. Of course I have a few 

 bees : but my hobby in life now is my flowers, chiefly 

 gladioli, and I spend many hours 'busily employed 

 every working day of the year among them. I "en- 

 joyed wonderful health until last October, when an 

 attack of rheumatism laid me up for three months, 

 and I have not now the vigor I had before the at- 

 tack. I read all you write, and you and I are in 

 almost perfect accord on every sub,ieet. I am en- 

 closing a clipping showing the great benefits that 

 have resulted in abolishing the manufacture and use 

 of vodka, and wish there were some method by which 

 we could obtain the same results here with whisky 

 and beer. 



Does not the great war astonish you more and 

 more ? Surely they are mad, insane, blind with furv. 

 My old grandfather used to tell me, when I was a 

 boy, " whom the gods would destroy they first make 

 mad," and it is surely now being verified. I hope 

 and pray it may soon be over. 



I am in my 78th year, and trying to live accord- 

 ing to Terry's teachings. I am sorry he has passed 

 on. He should have lived longer. His was a useful 

 life. Yours is also, and may it be prolonged to the 

 century mark is the wish of your old friend. 



San Gabriel, Cal., July 21." E. T. Flanagan. 



-P. S. — Now, friend Root, should you ever visit 

 Los Angeles again I really want you "to call on me 

 and let us go over some of the past, and have a good 

 talk of old times; for, altho I am deaf, I manage to 

 hear much that is said by watching the lips of the 

 speaker. Just let me know, and I will give you 

 clear directions how to find me. I have a happy 

 home, and no one was ever blest with better children 

 than I have. 



My good friend Flanagan, one would 

 su})pose that, after investing $r)flO in hives 

 th.at proved useless, and frames with (op- 

 bars that sag, etc., yon would hardly feel so 

 friendly. It is very kind of you indeed to 

 let nie off so easily by saying " unavoidable 

 in the evolution of the times," etc. We take 

 it you must be one of the sort that " suifer- 

 eth long and is kind." Perhaps chaff hives 

 were not needed in your locality — certainly 

 not in ('alif ornia ; but you may be surprised 

 to hear me say just now that not only here 

 in Medina, and within a large part of the 

 north territory, many people are coming to 

 the conclusion that the old chaff hive of 

 years ago is giving better results than any 

 other form of wintering, not excepting cel- 

 laring. Ernest said only a few days ago he 

 did not know but beekeepers here in the 

 North would have to go back to the old 

 chaff hive. When I made frames Avith those 

 thin top-bais 1 intended wire braces to sup-- 



port the top-bar. The metal-corner frames 

 were, I believe, generally discarded because 

 of the fashion of moving hives to out-api- 

 aries in order to get a better hoiiey-flow, 

 etc. 



I heartily agree with you in i-egard to 

 the wicked war. Should I get to California 

 again I will most assuredly hunt you up. 



iiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 



GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY. 



In .sjieaking of the good woman who has 

 lived to be 102 years old 1 forgot to mention 

 that the title of the article was " Growing 

 Old Gracefully." At the close of a letter 

 from our long-time friend Irving Keck he 

 writes as follows: 



This summer the old friends are rapidly slipping 

 away. Within a month not less than half a dozen 

 old schoolmates and intimate associates have " fallen 

 asleep," and the summons may come for me any 

 day. The days of " getting my shoulder to the 

 wheel " and " staying on the job " are done. All I 

 can hope to do is to " keep out of the way " from 

 this on. Irving Keck. 



Bowling Green, Fla., July 24. 



My good friend Keek, I agree that we 

 old fellows sliould try to avoid getting in 

 the way ; but I do not believe we need to 

 drop out entirely. If we look about us we 

 can find many opportunities to lend a help- 

 ing hand. I want you to hold on as long 

 as a kind Providence permit^-', in order that 

 I may not feel all alone, should that same 

 Providence i:)ermit me to remain after the 

 rest of you have " fallen asleep " as you 

 express it. 



APPROVE.S OF MO^"THLY. 



H. M. Moyer of Boyertown, Pa., writing 

 under date of Dec. 22, says : " I congratu- 

 late you on Gleanings becoming a monthly. 

 A swarm of bees can do more work in one 

 hive than they can if divided in two hives. 

 So witli Gleanings — one copy a month is 

 better than two. I have been a .subscriber 

 and reader of Gleanings for 33 years or 

 more." 



ALTHO CLOSE TO 80, STILL A BEEKEEPER AND 

 GARDENER, AND A HINT AS TO THE REA.SON WHY. 



Mr. A. I. Root: — -I have been a reader of Glean- 

 ings since 1879, and have enjoyed all your articles 

 very much ; and I feel sure you will be glad to 

 hear tliat about 1882 I was one who took the pledge 

 against smoking, and have kept it ever since (no 

 smokei- in tlie question). I know that my health 

 was improved, and has remained good to this lime. 

 Had it not been for your timely writing I don't 

 think I should have been able to write at my age. 

 I am noM' nearing my 79th birthday, and look after 

 forty cohmies of bees and a garden. I met you and 

 Mr. Calvert at Toronto about 1884, then yO'U and 

 your two sons at Detroit a few years ago at the 

 National convention; and now I hope you and your 

 partner in life may be long spared to each other, 

 and be able to conduct the Health and Home papers. 



My wife and I look for s(unething good when 

 Gleanings arrives. 



Lind^,ay, Ont., Jan. 29. 



