Subject: NBB newsletter of month 03,95

From: [email-masked] (Hugo Veerkamp)
Date: Wed, 1 Mar 1995 08:11:02 GMT

hi all,

This monthly newsletter is published simultaneously in BEENET,
in sci.agiculture.beekeeping newsgroup and in BEE-L.
H.V.
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                 Northern Bee books Newsletter
        BeeBooks Digest--Apicultural Publications and Issues
                 Volume 1, Number 1, march 1995
        (c) H.Veerkamp & J.Burbidge. " all rights reserved"
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                            INTRODUCTION

Yet another beekeeping newsletter on the web...the more, the merrier, I'd
say.
This newsletter is an attempt at making information on newly appearing
beebooks, as well as on those 'golden oldies' available to the beekeeping
community. Our main source of info will be at Northern bee books UK,
but input( related to beebooks) from others is hereby cordially invited.

                                        Hugo Veerkamp, Amsterdam, Holland
                                        editor NBB newsletter

                     BEE BOOK FOR BEGINNERS

a pocket size soft back format, Dr Harry Riches' 'A Handbook of
Beekeeping', is
now becoming recognised as the best introduction to beekeeping for newcomers.
Dr Riches has also produced the most readable and practical book available on
Honey Marketing, a particular problem for beginners, who have not built up
outlets for their products and may be discouraged from continuing by an
accumulation of heavy buckets!
                                  H. Riches: A Handbook of Beekeeping

                         BEEKEEPING LORE

We all know some beekeeping lore and legend and so do many non-beekeepers. In
Hilda M Ransome's 'The Sacred Bee' will be found all that we know - and
far more that we don't - from the very earliest records of cultures
worldwide.
                            Hilda M Ransome: The Sacred Bee

                 NEW BOOK FOR PRACTICAL BEEKEEPING

Mind Stretching, Experience Enhancing, 'Queens' land' by Norm Rice is the Bee
Book of 1994. Norm visited UK in the summer and impressed everyone he met and
spoke to with his humility, good sense and good fortune. Don't take our word
for it, read the glowing report in Thorne's Beekeepers' News. You can share
in his success by following his methods.
                                  Norm Rice: Queens' land

                       A BRAND NEW BEE BOOK

The late Mediaeval, fifteenth century was a time of great awakening of art,
science and technology in  Europe. Take beekeeping. In England, monasteries
kept bees to provide wax for candles. Honey was the only sweetening. Bees
were
kept in skeps and mead was made from honey. Unfortunately we don't know much
more than that because beekeeping was essentially a private occupation and
there are very few public records about it and its products.
Not so in Mediaeval Sweden. A new book, 'Honey, Beeswax and Mead.
Beekeeping in
Sweden during the Middle Ages and the 16th century', is the fruit of research
by Dr Erik Husberg who has unearthed and studied mediaeval laws, letters,
accounts and records from castles, bailliffs and collection of taxes.
The laws mostly related to ownership of swarms (swarming was very common) and
punishments for theft of hives - at least one sentence was that of death. The
Church used huge quantities of wax, in the records of one church it was the
most important item of expenditure. After the Reformation the use of beeswax
candles dropped to almost zero. Wax seals were used in Sweden as here on
important documents, Guilds used wax as currency for dues and fines, wax was
used in ointments, horticulture, polish, metal casting, cement and filler and
in engraving. This very brief summary does only touches on the content of the
book. Its only problem is that it is in Swedish (with a comprehensive summary
in English) but it is a model of research and almost worth learning a new
language for!
No doubt among the diversity of beekeepers there will be some enterprising
Swedish speaker somewhere who will be prepared to translate for a small
consideration..
                            Dr Erik Husberg:  Honey, Beeswax and Mead.
                                              Beekeeping in Sweden
                                              during the Middle Ages and
                                              the 16th century

                        GIFTS FROM THE HIVE

Honey and candles are not the only hive products we can give away, but they
are
certainly always well received. You can also use honey in cakes,
confectionery
and drinks, wax in cosmetics, polishes and decorative items. What's more, the
cost to you can be low (for little luxuries) for single items but they can be
combined to make superb presentations.
The most recent book for instructions on how to make a huge variety of
items is
'Super Formulas' , by Elaine C White. It contains many probably useless
recipes but there is a core of good ones and ideas may well be generated for
devising your own individual ones.
So what else is considered worthy of inclusion in this large and easy to read
book? It begins with a waterproof cement which is formulated to hold blades
on to knife handles. Forget Super Glue.
                                Elaine C White: Super Formulas
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for further inquiries about books reviewed or book catalog, please send
E-mail
   to: Jeremy Burbidge at [email-masked]
or to: Hugo Veerkamp at [email-masked]
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 * Origin: zzz the BEE bbs Amsterdam Holland +31 20.6764105 zzz (240:31/0)