> I have wondered why his hive and system of management were not more popular, especially for non-commercial beekeepers.

I think the answer lies in the comb honey era. They used the smallest practical brood nest, the 8 frame Langstroth, in order to force the bees into the comb honey supers. Later, when extracting honey became the thing, Root recommended the two story brood nest, which is much less cramped for room. In two standard boxes, the bees can have brood, pollen, honey reserves, etc.   

I have never actually seen a Dadant hive, but I imagine they are less awkward to pick up than a two story Root hive. For those who don't know what we are talking about, the original Dadant hive was taller, wider and deeper than a Langstroth/Root hive. A great big one story hive, which would be supered with Dadant depth (6 3/4") supers. 

PLB

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