Global Swarming Honeybees: Google Bee (Old Beekeeping Books for You & Me)

3.21.2009

Google Bee (Old Beekeeping Books for You & Me)

A recent issue of American Bee Journal made mention of the availability of two newly reprinted beekeeping books by Applewood Books, publisher of a nifty variety nature books, farming guides, "floral and gardening" books, and many other topics in keeping with its mission to "build a picture of America through its primary-source materials." The charmingly titled volume pictured above is one of Applewood Books' many reprints of interest.

The two bee-related books Applewood has recently reprinted are: Beekeeping: A Discussion of the Life of the Honeybee (originally published in 1918) and The Honey-Bee: Its Nature, Homes, and Products (first published in 1884). Both can be ordered directly from Applewood's website which, while containing marvelous products, is (alas!) unpleasant to navigate and not exactly plush with information.

I should also mention that one of these titles—Beekeeping: A Discussion of the Life of the Honeybee—is available for free download on Google Books. Some pics from the book:
Here are a couple of other out-of-copyright beekeeping and bee-related books you can find on Google Books:

The Honey-makers (1899)

The Honey Bee: Its Natural History, Physiology, and Management (1843)

The Bee-keeper's Manual (1860)

This is just the beginning; a search of Google Books will yield more treasures than can be assimilated in three lifetimes. Enjoy!

1 comment:

amarilla said...: Beautiful illustrations. If only I had three life times!; March 31, 2009 at 11:59 AM

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Quotes of Note

"The cynicism that you have is not your real soul."—Yoko Ono
"The country that elected George Bush — sort of — because he seemed like he’d be more fun to have a beer with than Al Gore or John Kerry is really getting its comeuppance."—Gail Collins
"How do you inherit the earth? By being awake."—Joni Mitchell
Causing the right amount of trouble is an art form.”—Judith Coche
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."—Philip K. Dick
"A meddling beekeeper is said to be the bees' worst enemy, and this may be true."—Ormond Aebi, The Art and Adventure of Beekeeping
"For too long we have been locked in an old fashioned, reductionist approach, dealing with bees as if they were mere machines created solely for our benefit, instead of highly evolved, wild creatures, with which we are privileged to work."—Phil Chandler, The Barefoot Beekeeper
"Neither among the bees nor any other animals that have a ray of our intellect, do things happen with the precision our books record. Too many circumstances remain unknown to us."—Maurice Maeterlinck
"In these times, acceleration spoils everything."—Heinz-Klaus Metzger, Musicologist
"Whatever lofty things you might accomplish today, you will do them only because you first ate something that grew out of dirt."—Barbara Kingsolver
"Healthy, happy bees don't need any additives."—Dee A. Lusby
"When the bird and the book disagree, always believe the bird."—Audubon
"There is a certain valid moment for every cloud."—Paul Strand

"For the bee, honey is the ultimate reality. It represents the fulfillment of her life mission, the triumph over her enemies, the continuity of the hive, the justification for working herself to death. Honey is to bees what money in the bank is to people—a measure of prosperity and well-being. But there is nothing abstract or symbolic about honey, as there is about money, which has no intrinsic value. There is more real wealth in a pound of honey, or a load of manure for that matter, than all the currency in the world. We often destroy the world's real wealth to create an illusion of wealth, confusing symbol and substance."—Wm. Longgood, The Queen Must Die