How to Keep Bees/Bibliography

by Anna Botsford Comstock

APPENDIX

BEE BOOKS

The bibliography of bee literature is extensive. Scientists of all nations have contributed the results of their investigations on bee anatomy and bee physiology, and have made bee literature, as a whole, most profound and technical reading. However, there are among these books many that were written for popular audiences, and that deal with the practical side of bee-keeping; of such we add a few titles of those best known and of special excellence.

Benton, Frank. "The Honey Bee." Mr. Benton, who is our national expert of the Department of Agriculture at Washington, always writes practically, and has carried on experiments with races of bees, which the private bee-keeper could hardly afford to make. The enterprising bee-keeper should keep in close touch with Mr. Benton's bulletins.

Cheshire, Frank R. Two volumes. This is one of the finest works that has ever been published upon the honey-bee and bee-keeping. It is delightfully written and has many fine illustrations.

Cook, Professor Albert J. "The Bee-keeper's Guide or Manual of the Apiary." This is the most extensive of all the bee-keeping manuals written for American bee-keepers. It deals with all phases of the subject minutely, and new editions are published frequently enough to keep the book up-to-date. Professor Cook has a wide reputation as a most excellent teacher, and bee-keeping is one of the subjects which he taught for years in the Agricultural College of Michigan.

Cowen, T. W. "The Honey-bee, Its Natural History, Anatomy and Physiology."

Cowen, T. W. "Bee-Keeper's Guide Books." The first of these little volumes is a clear and excellent account of the anatomy of the bee. The second is a concise and helpful book on the methods of bee-keeping as practiced in England.

Huber, Franz. "Nouvelles Observations sur les Abeilles," published in 1792. English translation in 1841. This classic in bee literature is one of the most delightful of all the bee books that have been written. It shows the careful methods of this blind scientist who has given us more of the understanding of the bee and its life than any other investigator or writer.

Hutchinson, W. Z. "Advanced Bee Culture."

Hutchinson, W. Z. "Comb Honey." Mr. Hutchinson is one of our most successful bee-keepers, and he writes clearly and understandingly of his methods.

Langstroth, L. L. "The Hive and Honey-Bee." This classic in American apiculture has been revised and kept up-to-date by the scholarly Dadants', father and son, who are well known on two continents as successful bee-keepers. This book written by the father of American apiculture is comprehensive, and is good literature as well as good bee-keeping.

Lubbock, Sir John. "Ants, Bees and Wasps." Although this is a book of scientific experiments, it should be read by every bee-keeper. No other book tells so well the patience and ingenuity necessary to discover what the bee knows and why it does certain things.

Maeterlinck, Maurice. "The Life of the Bee." This exquisite piece of literature and social philosophy has attracted much attention, and has introduced the world at large to the wonderful life of the honey-bee in such a poetic and dramatic manner, that most people have regarded it as a work of fiction. Maeterlinck is said to be a practical apiarist, and his book is based upon the facts of bee life as he understood them at the time the book was written. Though some of his facts be questioned, yet probably his statements are no more doubtful than would be those of almost any bee-keeper should he try to write what he thinks he knows about bees. Maeterlinck is the Homer of the bees and, therefore, he has a right to poetic license.

Miller, Dr. C. C. "Forty Years Among the Bees." This is a simply told history of the experiences of a successful bee man. It is a most honest and often a humorous record of bee-keepers' successes and failures.

Morley, Margaret. "The Bee People."

Morley, Margaret. "The Honey-Makers." The first of these books is written charmingly and simply for children and covers in an interesting manner the life of the bee. "The Honey-Makers" gives a most extended account of the relation of bees to men, giving extensive quotations from Hindu, Egyptian, Greek and Italian literatures and also a most interesting chapter on the curious superstitions and customs regarding the honey-bee.

Quinby, Moses. "Mysteries of Bee-Keeping," revised by L. C. Root and now called, "Quinby's New Bee Book." This is a simple, straightforward account of a practical man's dealings with bees.

Root, A. I. "ABC of Bee Culture." The author may be pardoned if she speaks with special enthusiasm of this book, as Mr. Root was the special teacher that helped the Comstock apiary achieve success. The interesting and truly human way that Mr. Root refers to bees is not only inspiring, but is also most practically helpful. The "ABC of Bee Culture" is arranged conveniently, encyclopedia fashion, so that the discussion of any subject in it may be readily found. Every page of it is interesting, and is based upon the actual experience of a man who is at once a keen observer, a sympathetic friend to the bees, and a most successful apiarist.