One of the few people of his time who actually made a living from bees, C. C. Miller made beekeeping his sole business, beginning as a hobby in 1861 and continuing until his death in 1920, following a long and distinguished career that produced many articles and books on the subject. This volume, long a classic within the beekeeping community, is a practical, yet endlessly charming handbook on all aspects of a romantic and arcane pursuit. Offering advice, observations, and information gleaned from more than a half-century of beekeeping, it covers, among many other topics, the importance of keeping hives clean and well-ventilated, mending combs, maintaining proper hive temperatures, winter storage, the Queen's nursery, harvesting honey, plus a special section of recipes that range from honey cake to salves for frostbite. Written by a major figure in apiculture history, this volume remains a standard text on hive management and the practices and principles of efficient, effective beekeeping.

Excerpt from Fifty Years Among the Bees In the year 1886 there was published a little book written by me entitled "A Year Among the Bees." In 1902 it was enlarged and appeared under the title "Forty years Among the Bees." In preparation for the present edition. I undertook the revision with little thought of the number of changes to be made or the number of pages to be added in order to bring it fully up to date (about one-eighth being new matter), but it is hoped that the changes and additions may make it of more value to the reader. As I began beekeeping in 1861, fifty years ago, the present name seems appropriate. However much some personal friends may like the brief biographical sketch that occupies the first few pages, others may think that the space could have been better occupied. There remains, however, the privilege of skipping those few pages. Most of the pictures are from photographs taken by myself or under my immediate supervision, at least so far as concerns "touching the button"; the Eastman Kodak Co. "did the rest." About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Includes summarized reports of many bee-keeper associations.

Well-documented study of bees, hives, and beekeepers, along with rare illustrations as they appear in ancient paintings, sculpture, on coins, jewelry, and Mayan glyphs.