Dave said:
I would also recommend 'A Modern Bee Farm' written by Sammuel Simmins in the
1880s... This book will show that there is not much that is 'new' in
beekeeping.

I grew up in beekeeping. Most farms had hives of bees. Other than remove the
honey little care was given. Beekeeping was easy!

Not so today!

I had a call this morning from a new beekeeper wanting to know if the
largest sellers of bees/nucs in our area were reliable as he had went to a
different beekeeper each year for the last five years restocking his hives
which either died or swarmed each year.

Brief description of some of his  methods.

He said he had used menthol cough drops slid in the entrance to control
tracheal mites.

He had used screened bottom boards for varroa control (as per internet) but
refused to use chemicals.

He said he had bought a couple frames of drone brood foundation from Dadant
for each hive to control varroa and had removed and destroyed the drone
cells at least once each year.

Never fed his bees as was sure they would store enough to winter. When I
asked about what he found in his deadouts in spring he described bees with
heads in cells.

I saw many problems with his beekeeping but I believe you get the idea. He
obviously needed to find a mentor!

If as Dave says "This book (1880's) will show there is not much  that is new
in beekeeping"

Then why have  the numbers of commercial beekeepers dropped to record lows
and so many new beekeepers are having trouble keeping their hives alive?

Bob

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