Beekeeping : For Profit and Pleasure
Contents: 1. Foreword I. The Family And Its Units II. The Modern Hive III. Location Of The Hive IV. Where And How To Obtain Bees V. How To Install A Swarm Of Bees In The Hive VI. The Ways And Work Of Bees VII. A Beekeeper\'s Tools And Equipment VIII. Manipulation Vs. Tinkering IX. Bee Stings X. Spring Management XI. Autumn And Winter Management XII. Honey In Legend And Taste XIII. Diseases And Enemies XIV. The Queen, The Worker, And The Drone XV. Swarming And Swarm Control XVI. Honey Plants And A Bee Garden
Beekeeping can be a very interesting and profitable hobby, and in the pages of Mr. Addison Webb\'s entertainingly written book will be found a concise and happy introduction to the craft.
Originally published in New York, and intended in the first instance for American readers, it has been found necessary in preparing the English edition to make certain changes in the text where American methods would be unsuitable, or differ from established procedure carried on by British Beekeepers; but care has been taken, so far as possible, to retain unchanged the author\'s original account.
In England and Scotland the prevailing climatic conditions and relatively limited range of suitable environment, preclude the possibility of bee-farming on anything like a scale comparable with that carried out in the United States, particularly in California where the honey harvest amounts literally to hundreds of tons yearly, and the big bee-farms may contain 2,000 or 3,000 colonies of bees located over a wide acreage of country blest by an equable climate and an abundant nectar-producing flora. However, when carried on in this country in conjunction with fruit growing, poultry-keeping, market gardening, or similar countryside industries, beekeeping can be an interesting, profitable, and health-giving pursuit. In the intimate partnership that exists between bees and flowers we have an association that is of far greater importance to human well-being than most people even dimly realize. Indeed, it is no exaggeration of the truth to say that but for the presence of our hive and native wild bees, not only would many of the farmer\'s crops which are of vital importance to our food supplies never mature, but the bulk of our flowering plants, both cultivated and wild, would in the course of a few years cease to exist, so completely dependent are they upon the visits of the bees for the transfer of their pollen, fertilization, and subsequent development of fertile seed. Therefore, whether you decide to take up beekeeping for the pleasure, beauty and interest which the study of their life and habits can bring you, or as a means of adding to your income, you will find it a hobby that will well reward your labour and attention.
Beekeeping can be a very interesting and profitable hobby, and in the pages of Mr. Addison Webb\'s entertainingly written book will be found a concise and happy introduction to the craft.
Originally published in New York, and intended in the first instance for American readers, it has been found necessary in preparing the English edition to make certain changes in the text where American methods would be unsuitable, or differ from established procedure carried on by British Beekeepers; but care has been taken, so far as possible, to retain unchanged the author\'s original account.
In England and Scotland the prevailing climatic conditions and relatively limited range of suitable environment, preclude the possibility of bee-farming on anything like a scale comparable with that carried out in the United States, particularly in California where the honey harvest amounts literally to hundreds of tons yearly, and the big bee-farms may contain 2,000 or 3,000 colonies of bees located over a wide acreage of country blest by an equable climate and an abundant nectar-producing flora. However, when carried on in this country in conjunction with fruit growing, poultry-keeping, market gardening, or similar countryside industries, beekeeping can be an interesting, profitable, and health-giving pursuit. In the intimate partnership that exists between bees and flowers we have an association that is of far greater importance to human well-being than most people even dimly realize. Indeed, it is no exaggeration of the truth to say that but for the presence of our hive and native wild bees, not only would many of the farmer\'s crops which are of vital importance to our food supplies never mature, but the bulk of our flowering plants, both cultivated and wild, would in the course of a few years cease to exist, so completely dependent are they upon the visits of the bees for the transfer of their pollen, fertilization, and subsequent development of fertile seed. Therefore, whether you decide to take up beekeeping for the pleasure, beauty and interest which the study of their life and habits can bring you, or as a means of adding to your income, you will find it a hobby that will well reward your labour and attention.
