1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



749 



in the line where I sorely needed help. His wonderfully 

 genial, friendly, and sociable way of telling things enlisted 

 my sympathies at once. 



I told you I was not studying then for thejnone;/ there was 

 in it. Langstroth never wrote about bees, or did anything 

 else, because of the money there was in it. Through all his 

 busy life, he, at least at times, seemed strangely oblivious of 

 the financial part. More of this anon. 



After I arrived home it did not take me long to find out 

 whether Langstroth was still living. I made the acquaintance, 

 by letter, of Samuel Wagner ; got hold of Vol. I of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal. By the way, I wonder whether there is 

 anybody living now who will enjoy reading the first edition of 

 Langstroth and the first volume of the American Bee Journal 

 as I enjoyed it then. Why, the very thought of those old 

 days of enthusiasm makes the blood even now tingle to my 

 fingers' ends. 



As soon as I found that Mr. Langstroth was then living 

 at Oxford, Butler Co., Ohio, I commenced correspondence. 

 Then I wanted the best queen-bee to start with that the world 

 afforded. It was pretty well along in the fall, but I could not 

 wait until spring, as some of my friends advised me to do. I 

 soon learned to look up to friend Langstroth with such con- 

 fidence and respect that I greedily read again and again every 

 word I could find from his pen — even his advertisements and 

 circular in regard to Italian bees. When the book was read 

 through once I read it again. Then I read certain chapters 

 over and over; and when summer time came again, and I had 

 little miniature hives or nuclei under almost every fruit-tree 

 in our spacious dooryard, each little hive containing a daugh- 

 ter of that S20 queen, f?ic)i I read Langstroth's book with 

 still inore avidity and eagerness, finding new truths and sug- 

 gestions in it each time. 



I think I met him first and heard him talk at a convention 

 in Cincinnati. He was a wonderful talker as well as a writer 

 — one of the most genial, good-natured, benevolent men the 

 world has ever produced. He was a poet, a sage, a philos- 

 opher, and a humanitarian, all in one, and, best of all, a most 

 devoted and humble follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. His 

 fund of anecdotes and pleasant memories and incidents was 

 beyond that of any other man I ever met ; and his rare educa- 

 tion and scholarly accomplishments but added to it all. No 

 one I ever saw could tell a story as he would tell it. A vein 

 of humor and good-natured pleasantry seemed to run through 

 it all. I think he enjoyed telling stories — especially stories 

 with good morals; and they all had to have a good moral or 

 they could not come from L. L. Langstroth. Not only the 

 play of his benevolent face, and the twinkle of his eye, but 

 the motion of his hands as he gave emphasis to the different 

 points in his narration, showed how thoroughly he entered 

 into his topic. 



It was my good fortune to listen to him one or more times 

 from the pulpit. He preached to us once here in Medina. The 

 church was full, but I hardly believe any one else in that large 

 audience enjoyed his talk as I did. They did not know him as 

 I did. 



You must not think from what I have said that our good 

 friend always agreed with every one else. He had opinions of 

 his own, and he could be stubborn and almost contrary when 

 he got "hot" in a discussion. But the gentle spirit was back 

 of it all. I remember once of being out in the apiary, ex- 

 plaining to him some wonderful improvement I had just 

 been working out. He, however, did not see it as I did, and 

 stoutly maintained that the old way— his way, in fact — was 

 better. All at once I stopped and concluded we had better 

 give up the subject. Pretty soon he laid his hand on my arm, 

 and said : 



"Friend Root, will you not forgive? I was rude and un- 

 courteous. You have practiced this thing, and are succeed- 

 ing. Very likely you are right and I am wrong." 



Now, friends, how many times in this world of ours do 

 you meet with a man with a spirit like that ? Once or twice 

 I have knelt with him in prayer. Sometimes we have prayed 

 together in regard to differences among bee-keepers ; and 1 

 have always been struck with his remarkable gift in prayer. 

 It seemed as though we were pleading with some dear friend, 

 when he addressed his Maker. 



His last public talk to bee-keepers, if I am correct, was 

 the one given at Toronto : and I felt anxious at the time that 

 some shorthand reporter might be at haiid who could give us 

 all his words, and even his little stories, just as he gave them 

 to us then. Perhaps others did not enjoy this talk as I did, 

 because they did not know him as I did. Why, that history of 

 long ago, telling of the trouble, blunders, and mistakes in in- 

 troducing the Italian bees from Italy to America, should be 

 handed down to coming generations. It should be embodied 



in some of the standard works on bees, in order to secure its 

 preservation. 



Langstroth and Quinby — those two old pioneers — have 

 now both passed away, but "their works do live after them," 

 and shall live for a thousand years or more. I feel anxious 

 that the first edition of both I.,angstroth and Quinby should 

 be preserved. There is something to me more interesting in 

 their first efforts — Quinby's book, for instance, telling how to 

 keep bees with a box-hive, and Langstroth telling his first ex- 

 periments with the movable-frame hive. Those early editions 

 should be preserved ; also the first volumes of the American 

 Bee Journal, containing the writings of these two great bene- 

 factors of the world. 



When quite a child I was greatly interested in reading the 

 life of Benjamin Franklin. When I first became acquainted 

 with Langstroth I could not resist the suggestion that ho was 

 much like Franklin. The maxims .of Poor Richard suggest 

 the thought. Mr. Langstroth was remarkably well read in 

 ancient literature. He was familiar with the writings of 

 great men in all ages. It rejoices my heart now to know that 

 he was even present with his daughter at the one that oc- 

 curred so short a time before his death. He never seemed to 

 have a faculty for accumulating property; but what is 

 millions of money compared to the grateful remembrance with 

 which Langstroth's name will be spoken in every civilized 

 land on the face of the earth? A. I. Root. 



"In the ProTince of Silesia, 260,000 colonies 

 of bees are kept, representing a capital of more than $1,000,- 

 000. These, even in the most unfavorable years, yield a 

 profit of 10 per cent.; and in propitious seasons, such as the 

 year 1846 was, the yield was fully 100 per cent., or more 

 than §1,000,000. It is well ascertained that the whortle- 

 berry and buckwheat blossoms are much richer in saccharine 

 juices on the poor soil of Silesia than in more fertile districts." 

 — Vol. 1, No. 2, American Bee Journal for 1861. 



A Correction. — On page 687, in the item on "Bees 

 and Cotton-Bloom Again," where it says cotton-bloom yields 

 from 6 to 10 p.m., please read, from 6 to 10 a.m. 



Earn Vour O^'n Subscription.— Any present 

 subscriber can earn his or her own subscription to the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal for one year by sending three neiv subscribers, 

 with $3.00. A copy of " Bees and Honey " will also be mailed 

 to each new subscriber, and the Bee Journal will be sent to 

 the new readers from the time the order is received up to the 

 end of 1896. This is an easy way to earn your own subscrip- 

 tion and at the same time help to circulate the Bee Journal. 

 Remember, getting 3 new subscribers pays for your own sub- 

 scription for 1 year ! Of course, no other premium will be 

 sent in addition. This is a straight offer by itself. 



Liberal Book Premiums are offered on page 

 751, for the work of getting new subscribers to the Bee Jour- 

 nal. It is a fine chance to get a complete aplcultural library. 

 Think of it — 40 cents' worth of books given to the one send- 

 ing a new subscriber I Remember, please, that only present 

 subscribers to the Bee Journal can take advantage of that 

 offer. The publishers of the Bee Journal believe in making it 

 an object for the old subscribers to push for new readers 

 among their neighbors and friends, hence the generous pre- 

 lum offers to them. It is hoped that all may begin now to 

 work. Sample copies of the Bee Journal free. 



The BIcEvoy Foul Brood Treatment is 



given in Dr. Howard's pamphlet on "Foul Brood; Its Natural 



History and Rational Treatment." It is the latest publication 



on the subject, and should be in the hands of every bee-keeper. 



Price, 25 cents ; or clubbed with the Bee Journal for one year 



—both for $1.10. 



^-»^* 



JtS" See " Bee-Keeper's Guide" offer on page 751. 



