Swarming by L. E. Snelgrove

Swarming

Its Control and Prevention

by L. E. Snelgrove

Miss I. Snelgrove, 1972, [Twelfth Edition], illustrated plates (diagrams), black and white photographic frontispiece, hardcover

Very Good Condition, a little edge and shelf wear, a little rubbing and bumping to edges and corners, no inscriptions (see photographs)

“The problem of controlling and preventing the swarming of bees has exercised men’s minds ever since bees were first kept in hives.  The invention of movable combs, which greatly increased the possibility of control, in some respects intensified the problem.  Most beekeepers of today have little difficulty in managing bees successfully during ten months of the year but when the swarming months come and they are anticipating a good yield of honey as the reward of their labour and care, they are dismayed and often reduced to a state of despair by the frequent disappearance of swarms from their best stocks.  Indeed, apart from bee-diseases, the difficulty of swarm-control still remains the greatest obstacle to successful beekeeping.  Many methods of swarm-prevention have been devised but have not been widely adopted, - some because they involve difficult, frequent, or unpleasant manipulations; others because they involve too much labour, are unreliable, or involve an element of cruelty; and others because they interfere with the main purpose of keeping bees, - that of honey production.”