Every hive should have one
Beekeeping for Fun. By Ray ChapmanTaylor and Ivo Davey. Published by the authors, 1981. 219 pp. and index. $l2 (paperback).
Probably the most serious failing of this very comprehensive amateur beekeepers’ manual is the lack of reference to its New Zealand origins on the cover. For the amateur beekeeper in New Zealand has not been well served until now. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ bulletin on the subject is the nearest thing to a local bible we have had, in spite of being aimed at the larger scale professional, and being a bit out of date in some of its advice and assumptions.
The literature from America is ample and often excellent, but the nectar and pollen sources are quite different and the dates, of course, all wrong. From Britain, the manuals' tend towards the crochety and idiosyncratic, and they seem to build their hives to look like bungalows over there.
So this publication by two Auckland hobbyists is much needed. There is little that the beginning beekeeper would want to know that he could not find here, and much to interest his more advanced counterparts. There is information on starting a colony, manipulating a hive for maximum honey production, queen rearing, dealing w-ith wasps and other enemies, and. in case it all seems too much like hard work, the “leave-alone hive” — either a form of religion or an excuse for lethargy, the authors note. Unfortunately, they do not recommend the practice. An excellent publication, every hive should have one. — John Goulter.
Every hive should have one
Press, 15 August 1981, Page 17
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