152 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW, 



seen him siuce that he did not refer to that 

 drink at the spring. 



My brother was with mc then, his first 

 season with bees, I believe, and we three had 

 one of those best of bee conventions for the 

 remainder of the day and evening. I re- 

 member I was getting things in readiness to 

 make my first exhibition of bees and honey 

 at our State fair, and that Ernest was much 

 interested in the "fixins." 



I liked Ernest then and have liked him 

 ever since; and it has been a genuine pleas- 

 ure for me to meet him at conventions: also 

 to see Oleanings- show, more and more, as 

 the years go by, the touch of its new master's 

 hand. Considering the excellent work that 

 Ernest has been doing so long upon Gleiui- 

 ings, I have felt for some time that bee-keep- 

 ers would be pleased to "see how he looks" 

 and know more about him; and, after study- 

 ing over the matter a little, I decided that I 

 knew of exactly tJie person to tell us about 

 him. The following sketch shows that my 

 judgement was not at fault in this in- 

 stance: — 



ERNEST K. BOOT. 



Mr. Hutchinson has requested me to write 

 a few lines relative to the junior editor of 

 Gleanings in Bee Culture; and it is very sel- 

 dom that I comply with a request more 

 cheerfully. Still, I realize that a sensitive 



mind shrinks from saying any thing com- 

 mendatory of a friend directly to his face, 

 lest the expression of honest friendship cross 

 that fine line where praise ends and fiattery 

 begins. Rut if the person we are now dis- 

 cussing were subje .t to that malady which 

 makes a larger hat necessary to fit a swelling 

 head, the disease would have broken out long 

 ago: so I feel safe in saying what I shall say 

 regarding a man who is even now well known 

 to the whole apicultural world. 



Ernest R. is the eldest child of Amos I. 

 and Susan Root, and was born in Medina in 

 -June, ISi'i'I, consequently he has just entered 

 his ;50th year. Fortunately his early history, 

 which I could not write, has been written by 

 himself in Gleanings. But it might be well to 

 note that his first recollection of things ter- 

 restrial was when his father mounted that 

 hobby of his (apiculture) which will always 

 connect their names with the production of 

 honey. In fact, apiculture and mechanics 

 constitute the atmosphere in which Ernest 

 has been reared to manhood. By way of 

 education, he enjoyed all the advantages of 

 our excellent schools here, and graduated in 

 1881. In August of that year he went to 

 (Jberlin College, and remained four years. 

 •John T. Calvert, who is now Ernest's broth- 

 er-in-law, was also with him at Oberlin. In 

 ISSf), the work of managing his father's bus- 

 iness was far beyond the power of any one 

 man; and the boys were told that, if they did 

 not wish to see the editor of Gleaniiigs break 

 down entirely, it would be necessary for 

 them to come home immediately, which they 

 did. Mr. Calvert assumed the responsible 

 position of l)usiness manager, while Ernest 

 devoted his time to Gleanings, and to a rigid 

 exHiniuation of implements designed for use 

 in the apiary. 



Almost any man can find heirs enough to 

 wliom lie can give his property: but seldom 

 indeed does a man throw off the heavy bur- 

 den of the details of a great business, and 

 see it "blossom and shake like Lebanon," or 

 grow like a traDsi)lanted hert) in new soil, as 

 did A. I. Root when he put his two "boys," 

 as he calls them, into the traces, inside of 

 brick walls, and thps put himself at liberty 

 to pursue high-pressure gardening, etc., out- 

 side. But in no sense have his boys usurped 

 any of his i>rerogatives. Nothing is done 

 without his full knowledge and consent, 

 though, of course, he is not so conservative 

 as to try to keep them in any one groove, 

 oblivious of all human progress. In fact, 



