Title: A Brief History of Scottish Beekeeping and Beekeepers
Author: Taylor Hood
Publisher: Northern Bee Books, 2024
ISBN: 978-1-914934-92-6
Paperback, 145 pages
Cost: £21
Available: Northern Bee Books
A Brief History of Scottish Beekeeping and Beekeepers by Taylor Hood is a collection of biographical accounts of over 30 people who have contributed to the country’s rich heritage over several hundred years of apiculture.
The author is an experienced beekeeper and enthusiastic historian with the research skills required to unearth and bring to light valuable information that might otherwise have been unavailable to the Scottish beekeeper searching for links to the past. This history book brings together many stories and presents them in one convenient place. It is full of fascinating facts and will be a useful tool for writers and students of beekeeping.
This work honours great beekeepers from the past, and the kenspeckle (well known) contemporary people such as Andrew Abrahams and Charles Irwin. It is interesting to learn how many of Scotland’s beekeepers have been recognised for their dedication to beekeeping and honoured by the award of MBE (Member of the British Empire). At last, Delia M. Allen, one of our greatest scientists, will be better recognised in her homeland. Dr Allen is well known in the US and often quoted in scientific papers for her work on bee behaviour.
A contents page guides the reader to each of the 34 sections including acknowledgements and a foreword. It is a well-illustrated book with a few colour photographs and many old black and white pictures and drawings depicting scenes from the past, and explaining equipment.
The writing is styled in encyclopaedic form with factual statements and lists. This will appeal to the readers who want facts and figures quickly without the flowing prose of an essay form. However, the book doesn’t include analysis, discussion, or comparisons of the past with modern beekeeping which would have clarified some aspects for inexperienced beekeepers. For example, from modern science, we know that the Isle of Wight Disease was most probably caused by chronic bee paralysis virus rather than tracheal mites or Vairimorpha spp. (formerly classified as Nosema spp.) This book will benefit from a light copy edit and another proofreading pass to correct typographical errors before the first reprint.
Thank you, Ann, for bringing this book to the attention of your readers. I have long admired the scientific studies of honey bees that have been done in Scotland, and I look forward to seeing how this book will share information about these investigations and investigators.
Good to know you enjoyed the review, Tom. Thank you for commenting.