A Living From Bees | by Frank C. Pellett
This book is the result of a lifetime association with the bees. First there was a childhood when an indulgent beekeeping grandfather lived close by the author's home, thus permitting an early acquaintance with the ways of the honey producer. Later there was a period during which a living came from the bees after a trial of office work and attempt at the practice of law proved unsatisfactory. Following this came service as the first State Apiarist of Iowa and then association with the American Bee Journal as managing editor. In recent years as Field Editor of that magazine the author has had opportunity to visit most of the important honey producing areas on this continent and to form personal acquaintance with hundreds of the most successful beekeepers.
| Title | A Living From Bees |
| Author | Frank C. Pellett |
| Publisher | Orange Judd Publishing Company, Inc. |
| Year | 1946 |
| Copyright | 1946, Orange Judd Publishing Company, Inc. |
| Amazon | A Living From Bees |
By Frank C. Pellett, Field Editor American Bee Journal Former State Apiarist of Iowa Author American Honey Plants, History of American Beekeeping etc.
Illustrated
Preface To Revised Edition, Foreword- Preface To Revised Edition The end of World War II brought American Agriculture serious new problems in reconverting to peace time conditions. The shortage of seed of such legumes as alfalfa and the ...
- I. Beekeeping-Business Or Sideline
- In most localities the returns from the bees vary greatly from year to year. The uninformed, unfortunately, too often measure the probable returns from fat years rather than the lean ones. What counts...
- Raising Bees Or Honey, Selling Live Bees
- Raising Bees Or Honey Not many years ago there was little to beekeeping practice except to hive the swarms and put on the supers. Management as we follow it now was unknown. Under such conditions the...
- Selling Live Bees. Continued
- Many folks want to know whether it is possible to make a living from bees and how they can go about getting started. If one has a good outfit in a suitable location and understands the business there ...
- Don't Plunge
- Yesterday we had a caller, a young man who told an interesting story. A few years ago he was a shipping clerk in an eastern city. He became interested in the stories he heard of beekeeping in the swee...
- The Beginning Beekeeper, The Time, Sources Of Information, What To Buy, Things Which Are Important
- The Beginning Beekeeper It is one thing to get enthusiastic about bees from reading about them, but quite another to learn how to secure them and care for them. Many practical questions arise at once...
- Things Which Puzzle The Beginner With Bees
- Several letters have come to me from those who state that they wish to make a start at beekeeping, but are doubtful as to just how to go about it. They want specific directions as to the proper things...
- Things To Avoid
- While the fundamentals of beekeeping are not difficult to understand, the common experience is for the beginner to make expensive blunders. With sufficient care, these are not necessary, for some peop...
- III. Keeping Bees In Town
- Happy is the man with a bit of land. To work with living and growing things is to work in partnership with the creator and have a part in shaping the forces that move the world. Millions who live in l...
- Some Necessary Precautions, When Bees Annoy The Neighbors, Bees At Watering Places
- Some Necessary Precautions If one would keep bees in town there are a few precautions which should not be overlooked. Bees will sting when things are not to their liking. Stings are painful and injur...
- Bees In Town, The Honeybee Family, The Worker Bees
- Bees In Town Many of us can remember when even in the cities homes were surrounded with large lots. It was common practice to keep driving horse and a family cow. A few hens were common and sometimes...
- The Worker Bees. Continued
- Many a time have I watched beside a busy hive and seen the bees dragging out the unfortunates who were no longer able to go to the field in search of nectar. In many cases the old bees seem to go fort...
- The Queen Or Mother Bee
- Much of fancy has been written about the queen bee. Her very name is misleading for there is nothing to indicate that she has anything to do with the government of the colony. In fact the very opposit...
- The Drone
- What shall we say of the drone, whose very name has long been a synonym for idleness and sloth? The popular song, Everybody works but Father, may well apply to him. Just why nature should decree th...
- The Swarm, Swarm Behavior
- The Swarm The bees are swarming! The bees are swarming! This was once a call sufficient to set a whole family in commotion. Excitement permeated the entire neighborhood and every person within ...
- Activities Within The Hive, Division Of Labor
- Perhaps nowhere else in all the world do we find such complete and harmonious organization as among the honeybees. If there is any shirking of disagreeable duty, any rivalry for preferred position, or...
- Housekeeping In The Hive, Building Of The Combs, The Nurse's Job
- Housekeeping In The Hive When a swarm has clustered, the beekeeper brings an empty hive, and placing it in a convenient location, shakes the clustering bees down in front of it. The first insects to ...
- The Six-Sided Cell, Shaping The Combs
- The Six-Sided Cell Rene Reaumur, a famous naturalist of the seventeenth century, in speculating as to how the bees arrived at the solution of the six-sided prism, commented thus: If one does not wis...
- The Sting
- Her sting has made the honeybee famous. Widely recognized as the maker of a most excellent product which she intends only for the use of her own family, she is even better known for the efficiency of ...
- The Honey Harvest
- Who can describe a honeyflow-outpouring of wealth? All nature is at her best; good honeyflows come at no other time. The air is balmy, the days are warm, even hot. The nights are cool, the change in t...
- Harvesting The Crop
- Watching at the entrance of the hive, during the harvest, one observes a feverish activity with a constant flight of busy workers coming and going to and from the field. After centuries of speculation...
- High Tide Of Summer, Ripening The Honey
- High Tide Of Summer If we are to judge by appearances, the bee reaches her greatest period of exultation during the honey harvest. Many an hour have I watched beside the hives at this season. The air...
- Bee Pasture, Major Sources Of Surplus, Some Problems In Nectar Secretion
- Bee Pasture The source of his bee pasture is usually a matter of indifference to the side-line beekeeper. With only a few colonies of bees he has little to worry about since there is likely to be som...
- The Demands Of Clover, Requirements Of Cotton, Alfalfa An Example
- The Demands Of Clover The clovers demand conditions almost the opposite of those under which buckwheat reaches its maximum yields. Conditions, however, which are favorable for alsike are not so good ...
- The Practical Application, Shifting Bee Pasture
- The Practical Application From the above it will readily be seen that we need far more information concerning the requirements of plants. A beekeeper is likely to waste his time in trying to establis...
- Bee Bread
- In the old days when it was the custom to cut the combs from the hives and mash them up and strain the honey through a cotton cloth, it was noted that some combs were filled with pollen. This abundant...
- When Nectar Pails, Bee Pasture, Honeydew, Storing Fruit Juices
- When Nectar Pails In seasons when severe drouth burns up the herbage, there is little for the bees. When no rain falls for long periods there is no pasture for the cattle because of drying of the gra...
- Regional Differences, The South
- Regional Differences While the fundamentals of beekeeping practice are always the same, there is a great variation in the necessary manipulations and the time of their application because of climatic...
- Southwest Texas, Increase For Late Flows, Migratory Beekeeping
- Southwest Texas In former years this was a famous honey producing region. It was in this area that large scale beekeeping first came prominently to public attention. Many carloads of honey from huaji...
- Problems Of The Desert Beekeeper, The Winter Problem, The Uncertain Flows
- Problems Of The Desert Beekeeper The beekeeper who operates in the irrigated valleys finds the conditions surrounding his honey flows quite similar to those in the rain belt. With controlled moisture...
- Need Of Bees In Agriculture
- Appreciation of the part of the honeybee in a prosperous agriculture is of recent development. It is but a few years since it was thought that the returns from the services of honeybees were measured ...
- Bees And Clover Seed
- According to Extension Bulletin 253 of Ohio University, Honeybees Increase Clover Seed Production 15 Times. Several of the clovers including white Dutch, alsike, medium red and Ladino are practical...
- Crops Which Need The Bees, Place Of The Beekeeper
- Crops Which Need The Bees A publication of the United States Department of Agriculture, (E-584), entitled The Dependence of Agriculture on the Beekeeping Industry states, At least 50 agricultural ...
- About Beehives, Kinds Of Hives, Double Walled Hives
- About Beehives In reading over a number of questions about hives one notes that the subject is one of considerable interest to the novice. One man enquires what advantage comes from using a patent ...
- Advantages Of The Deep Frame
- The immortal leader of our craft, L. L. Langstroth whose invention of the movable frame made honey production a commercial possibility, wrote: - A good swarm of bees in a good season, placed in a sma...
- Where The Difference Lies
- The apostle Paul in exhorting the early disciples of the new religion urged them to be able to give to every man a reason for the faith that was within them. In view of the general use of Langstroth e...
- Where The Difference Lies. Continued
- It is important to have the hive-body large enough to permit a vigorous queen to lay to her maximum capacity, to accommodate her brood nest, together with a sufficient reserve of both pollen and honey...
- Tools For The Beekeeper, The Smoker, Protection From Stings
- Tools For The Beekeeper The equipment which the beginner should buy will depend upon the extent to which he later expects to engage in honey production, and whether he expects to produce comb or extr...
- The Hive Tool, Bee Escape, Queen Excluders, Other Equipment, The Extractor
- The Hive Tool The value of a hive tool cannot be measured by its cost. While many persons get along with a small chisel or screw driver, the cost of a special hive tool is so slight and it can be put...
- Cappings Melters And Settling Tanks, When Bees Must Be Fed, Reserves Like A Bank Account
- Cappings Melters And Settling Tanks When extracted honey is produced on an extensive scale there is a large accumulation of cappings. To separate the honey from the cappings and secure the wax is a b...
- Times Of Scarcity, Feeding For Queen Rearing, Preparation Of Feed, Feeders
- Times Of Scarcity It frequently happens that a period of dearth will come in summer when normally the bees would be storing. At such times care should be used to insure ample stores. When the weather...
- The Use Of Comb Foundation
- Properly used, comb foundation is both a time saver and a money maker to the beekeeper. In a state of nature the bees build their combs in irregular fashion with a large portion composed of drone cell...
- About Brood Combs
- Rare is the beginning beekeeper who has any appreciation of the importance of good brood combs. In fact when one comes to fully understand all that is represented in the combs within his hives, he is ...
- Queen Rearing, Commercial Queen Rearing
- Queen Rearing While queen rearing is a specialty about which several books have been written and many beekeepers follow as a source of livelihood, it is not likely to be followed very far by the aver...
- Introduction Of Laying Queens, Breeding Better Bees, The Making Of Increase
- Introduction Of Laying Queens When queens are brought from a distance they will come in small cages with one compartment supplied with candy for food. There will be about a dozen nurse bees to care f...
- Schedule Of Divisions, The Second Season, Control Of Swarming
- Schedule Of Divisions The bees were left in their packing-cases until fruit bloom was over in May. The bees had been wintered in two-story hives in packing cases. The two-story hives gave them room f...
- Increase At Little Cost, The Rauchfuss Method
- Increase At Little Cost In the author's book, Practical Queen Rearing is told the story of a modification of this plan which has been successfully used for some years. An effort has been made to fi...
- A Costly Method, Through The Year In The Apiary, With The Bees In The Spring, Windbreak, Stores, Water, When All Is Well
- A Costly Method The old time way of simply dividing the colony and setting one part aside to rear its own queen is inefficient and expensive. The queenless division loses so much time before a new qu...
- Summer With The Bees
- In the northeastern states June is the high tide of the year. It is the month of action and growth. The grass is green, the birds are teaching their young to fly, the bees are humming among the clover...
- October, Thrift
- October 'Tis October, time of maturity; the season when the yellow pumpkins bask in the mellow autumn sun; when the corn is ripening in the field; and when the birds are moving southward on their ann...
- The Hive In Late Autumn, Results Of Idleness, When The Bee Turns Bandit
- The Hive In Late Autumn In the northern states November is usually a month of uncertain weather. There are days that are chill and raw, there are days that are rainy; there are frosty mornings and an...
- Manipulation Simplified
- Since I am of slight build and weigh only about 120 pounds the lifting necessary when operating with the big hives is something of a problem. I have accordingly sought for ways to simplify the system ...
- Getting The Honey To Market, Reaching The Distant Market
- Getting The Honey To Market In most cases the beginner will find his local market the best place to sell his crop. It is usually possible to develop a local market for a small crop at much better pri...
- Why Freight Rates Are High, Value Of Attractive Packages
- Why Freight Rates Are High To get back to the beginning, the first thing that confronts the honey producer who would send his honey to market is the matter of freight rates. Too much care cannot be t...
- Attracting The Consumer, Package Must Fit The Trade
- Attracting The Consumer After noting the great advantage that attractive packages had in wholesale sales the writer was more interested than ever in the retail package. Retail stores were visited in ...
- General Requirements, Mistakes In Marketing, Price Quotations Vary, Variation In Quality, Tests In Illinois, Honey In Wine
- General Requirements The writer interviewed a number of dealers both wholesale and retail. When asked for some general advice to the honey seller they agreed on the following: Sell through a firm th...
- Must Avoid Mistakes, Diseases And Enemies Of Bees, American Foulbrood, European Foulbrood
- Must Avoid Mistakes It is only by marketing through central packing plants that mistakes of this kind can be avoided. Doubtless getting the wrong quality of honey for a special purpose has resulted i...
- Sacbrood, Disease Of Adult Rees, Spray Poison, The Wax Moth
- Sacbrood Sacbrood is a relatively mild disease which appears to be everywhere present but which rarely becomes really serious. The dead larvae are fully grown and in most cases the cocoon has been sp...
- Wintering The Bees, Cellar Wintering, Packing Outside
- Wintering The Bees After the close of the honeyflow the bees should be prepared for winter as early as possible in order to avoid disturbing the colony after the normal activities of the summer have ...
- Causes Of Winter Loss, Essentials, How To Stock An Observation Hive, How To Provide A Good Smoke
- Causes Of Winter Loss Starvation is probably the most common cause of winter loss. It is difficult to realize the amount of honey that will be needed to carry a strong colony from the close of the ho...
- How To Install Package Bees, How To Unite Bees, How To Transfer Rees
- How To Install Package Bees The packages should be examined at the express office on arrival and, if in bad condition, the facts should be noted on bill of lading by the agent and sent to the shipper...
- How To Remove Bees From Trees Or Houses, How To Stop Robbing
- How To Remove Bees From Trees Or Houses Every beekeeper is likely to be called upon to remove bees from unwanted places. Stray swarms often enter openings in the walls of houses, churches or hollow t...
- Some Curious Old Customs, Some Ancient Beliefs And Customs
- Some Curious Old Customs Old customs and beliefs give way slowly before the changes that come with education and better understanding of the relation of cause and effect. There are few spheres of hum...
- Famous American Beekeepers
- It is difficult to measure the merits of the service rendered by our contemporaries. As we view the activities of the men now active in the field of beekeeping, we wonder whether any one of them will ...
- Famous American Beekeepers. Part 2
- James Heddon was prominent in beekeeping circles for many years, but he appears to have been a good advertiser and business man rather than a discoverer or leader. He advocated divisible brood chamber...
- Famous American Beekeepers. Part 3. The Immortal Langstroth, Moses Quinby
- The Immortal Langstroth Since the death of Langstroth, his fame has continued to spread, while the reputation of most of the others mentioned has gradually dimmed. It was largely through the support ...
- Famous American Beekeepers. Part 4. Charles Dadant, A. I. Root, G. M. Doolittle
- Charles Dadant The failure of his business in middle life, just when he was looking forward to retirement to a life of leisure in the country, compelled Charles Dadant to begin life all over again. H...
- Beekeeping Glossary. Part 1. A-C
- Absconding. A term commonly used where swarms are lost through their departure for parts unknown. Adair Hive. A hive formerly popular in some localities but now almost gone out of use. The frames wer...
- Beekeeping Glossary. Part 2. D-G
- Dadant Hive. A large hive with eleven frames 18 1/2 x 11 1/4. The frames are spaced 1 1/2 inches from center to center and a dummy is used to reduce the size of the hive for weak colonies. A straw mat...
- Beekeeping Glossary. Part 3. H-P
- Heddon Hive. A very shallow hive with frames 5 3/8 x 18 1/16 inches which created a great deal of discussion at the time of its introduction. It was also known as a divisible brood-chamber hive. Hoff...
- Beekeeping Glossary. Part 4. Q-Z
- Quahking. The sound made by a young queen before she emerges from the cell. See Piping. Queen. The mother-bee. A sexually developed female honey-bee. Queen-cage. A small cage for the purpose of conf...
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