> "If you meet a beekeeper who says he knows it all, his bees will probably be dead next year."
Hello All,
At the end of this post, I have
a quote from an 1878 article
(as simple as it may be, I just
loved the quote, so I saved it)
which complains about the
same thing; -that perhaps,
there are too many rushing
to be 'experts' in the field.
-This has been occurring in
beekeeping for hundreds
of years.
There were many innovations
in beekeeping which occurred
during the period from 1850
to about 1875, which is why
this era is known as the
golden years of beekeeping.
During this period, the field
was quite crowded with 'experts'
seeking to cash in with their
newest innovation in beekeeping.
For example, -to my knowledge,
the first patent ever obtained for
a beehive was in England by Dr.
Gedde, for his invention of octagon
hive, in the year 1675. By the year
1879, (over 200 years) it remained
the only patent taken out in England
for a beehive. In contrast, by 1879,
America recorded 1101 patents for
beehives.
During this 'golden age of beekeeping,'
the country was full of patent-right
venders who sold county or state rights.
Some of these sharks reaped a harvest
in selling moth-proof hives. Practically
all of these patentright venders sold
useless contraptions, and most of them
were men without principle—so much
so that the business of selling out
county and state rights soon fell
into ill repute.
References:
Leggett, M.D. 1874. Subject matter index
of patents 1790 - 1873 inclusive.
The ABC and XYZ of bee culture:
By Amos Ives Root, Ernest Rob Root
1917 page 557
Of Bees
An Introduction to the Early History of Bees
By William Carr
Bee Smokers in History with Paul Jackson
Paul Jackson
=====End=====
The quote below, is a sort of complaint
during the time, which can still be
applied today.
Chester Daily Times
December 6, 1878, Chester, Pennsylvania
"...A gentleman living in the northern suburbs
secured a hive of bees two or three weeks
ago as a nucleus for an apiary, and in the
course of ten days he had read ten different
works on the honey bee, and invented half
a dozen patent hives...."
Best Wishes,
Joe Waggle
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles
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