A colleague turned me on to Montana Agricultural College Experiment Station Bulletin no. 67 "Practical Beekeeping - Designed for the Use of the Beginner and Small Apiarist. Adapted to the State of Montana". Written as a senior thesis by Ralph Benton and published in June of 1907, Practical Beekeeping is a wonderful read on the early days of beekeeping practices in the state. Over the next few weeks I'll share tidbits from this text. Most amazing is how little things have changed in beekeeping equipment or practices.
"We are all familiar with the sight of bees flying from flower to flower, now dusted with pollen and stopping to brush themselves with their legs and pack away the golden treasure in their sacks, now scrambling into deep flowers or clinging in twisted and contorted positions to extract the sweets of some drooping flower."
Compared to modern scientific writings, 'Practical Beekeeping' is literature and I'm going to enjoy reading it over the next few days. Thanks to Matt for digitizing a few images from the bulletin.
Hi - I absolutely love this site and all of the practical information you provide. I am well on my way to becoming a beekeeper!
ReplyDeleteI also happen to love the image from this post, and would love to use it on a Save the Bees tshirt. Is it available for use?
Thank you so much for your work on this site! Keep it coming.