Honey Farming Reviewed.

Introduction

The clocks went back an hour last week and the temperature dropped quickly to single figures. Today the low sun is highlighting the remaining bright yellow beech leaves and its currently 4°C.

I must thank Cynthia, Claire and Louise again for coming over yesterday to place the last three BoodMinder scales under the hives for me. We had a tea party first and caught up with some beekeeping news in front of the stove. Louise brought some of her amazing Chelsea buns still warm from her oven. She makes the pastry in her bread maker then adds the dried fruit before baking.

Bee apprentice, Leo (22 months), was with me for the day after a sleepover. It was cold and wet outside so I stood him up on the kitchen sink to watch the apiary proceedings from the window. He watched and waved for a bit but, with the attention span of an ant, quickly turned his attention to fiddling with the taps. Sometimes he helps me collect varroa boards for counting and his beekeeping education is coming along nicely. He likes to watch the bees flying in and out of the hives. I’ve not deliberately taught Leo to say ‘honey’, but the other day he unpacked an order that was sitting by the front door and toddled through to the sitting room clutching  a jar in his chubby hands very excited to tell me what it was. That was a surprise. Luckily the honey was soft-set.

Honey Farming

Northern Bee Books (NBB) asked if I would review Honey Farming. I was pleased to read this wonderful book again. I have a very old copy from the first publication in 1946, but NBB have copied, reprinted and published the book recently in its original form.

I enjoy this book so much because the writer sounds like one of the most sensible down-to-earth beekeepers, and one whom you could have relied on for sound advice.  I would have loved to have met him. Mostly the book seems timeless till you take in the dates and realise it was written about beekeeping from over a hundred years ago. I bet that Robert Orlando Beater Manley was viewed with suspicion and scepticism by some of the old dyed-in-the-wool beekeepers of his time. He challenged the orthodox practices and beliefs of his time and was audacious enough to go against all advice and set up a successful bee farming business based on honey sales alone. I imagine that not many bee farmers today can make a living solely from honey sales. You might argue that the climate was different then and colonies produced more honey. Manley gives a great account of the weather and describes the good seasons and the bad. There were many of the latter in his beekeeping career.

I learned a lot from this book but most of all it made me laugh. The humour is infectious and the way Manley writes is unique. He pokes fun at people but he doesn’t slag them off or back-stab.

Review

Title: Honey Farming

Author: R.O.B. Manley

Published: 1946 Faber and Faber LTD (hardback). New Edition republished 2012 by Northern Bee Books

Paperback, 293 pages,

Cost: £18.95

Available: Northern Bee Books

Honey Farming by R.O.B. (Robert Orlando Beater) Manley was written in response to the many letters received from the readers of his previous popular book, Honey Production in the British Isles. Honey Farming describes beekeeping practices from over a hundred years ago but most of this book stores gems of interesting and amusing information that remain relevant to beekeepers now.

There are 13 chapters which are illustrated throughout by black and white photographs and drawings. They contain the following subjects; the author’s introduction to beekeeping and account of beekeeping last century, getting started in bee farming, climate, forage and apiary set-up, equipment, bee breeding, beekeeping over the seasons, swarm control, introduction of queens, moving bees, going to the heather, harvest, diseases and pests, and a final short chapter with advice for beginners.

Honey Farming was written for experienced beekeepers and focusses on setting up a successful bee farming business. It was ahead of its time and different from other books available in the UK then. It reflects the thoughts and experiences of an open-minded and enterprising beekeeper.

Manley is an entertaining raconteur and writes with acerbic wit. He describes the state of beekeeping at the end of the 19^th century and the main big names in beekeeping—Cowan, Carr and Digges. He entertains with stories of how these great figures fought amongst themselves to be top dog in beekeeping. Manley moved away from the narrow-minded orthodox beekeeping mindset and took a risk in moving out of agricultural farming into beekeeping and relying solely on honey for an income. Bee farming was already established in the U.S in 1921 when Manley took the plunge, but he had no real role models to learn from here in the UK.  Most beekeepers believed it was not possible to be a successful bee farmer in the UK climate and so Manley, along with his friend Mr. Gale, became two of the first productive bee farmers.

Manley apprenticed himself to an experienced beekeeper for a year then set up his own successful business. He read widely and found that the American magazines were the most useful for honey farmers. He gives lots of good advice for the bee farmer starting out today including, “if you have no money, don’t go in for bee farming”. Back then, Manley advised anyone not to attempt to make a living from bees on fewer than 200 colonies.

The chapters on moving bees and taking them to the heather are very useful and someone who has not done these things before will learn a lot. The information is also helpful to anyone studying for exams.

The reader must appreciate that the information on pests and diseases is historical and mostly not relevant to beekeeping today. We know so much more today because of scientific advances. Back then Manley thought the Isle of Wight Disease was caused by tracheal mites but we know that Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus was the culprit. He states that the human chromosomes number 48 but we know that we all have 46 in normal situations. We also have scientific evidence to better understand thermoregulation and winter colony management, thanks to Dr. Derek Mitchell and other scientists. We now know that Manley’s advice to raise the crown board for top ventilation in winter is no longer sound practice. Some of the treatments administered to honey bees in Manley’s day such as Frow mixture containing safrol, nitrobenzene and petrol sound lethal.

Manley is very clear about the difference between keeping bees and being kept by them and he emphasises that bee farmers must be able to earn more that they spend. He advises them to stick to the basic equipment and avoid the fads and expensive unnecessary “trimmings” that hobbyists love to buy. He pokes fun at the hobbyist who wants to open up a hive just for something to do and says, “It is called ‘manipulating’ them. The poor creatures are to be commenced upon in March and ceaselessly tormented until winter brings them respite”.

This is one of my favourite books from the past and I’ve reread some of the chapters several times over the years. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in a slice of beekeeping history written in a humorous racy style. Manley is knowledgeable and authoritative, yet he writes with humility and not a hint of hubris.