The Biggle Bee Book (A Swarm of Facts on Practical Beekeeping, Carefully Hived)

“As long as I can remember, even as a boy, there were bees kept on our farm,” wrote Jacob Biggle in his preface to The Biggle Bee Book. “If for no other reason than to insure the proper fertilization of fruit and other blossoms, every farmer, fruit grower, or gardener should keep a few bees upon his grounds.” Biggle’s fifty colonies of bees, though requiring just a small part of his time, paid Biggle a larger return than any other animal on his farm. Not only did he take pleasure in caring for these wonderful insects and enjoying the honey they produced, he also recognized that their presence on his farm meant that his orchards and crops would flourish.

If there are any so-called secrets to the art of beekeeping, Jacob Biggle does his best to expose them all in this delightful little volume. His hope was that readers could profit from his hard-earned wisdom that included:

• The benefits of keeping bees
• How to care for bees through the winter
• The marketing and selling of wax- and honey-based products
• What bee-friendly plants to raise in the garden
• How to introduce a new queen to the hive

Written not only for the professional beekeeper, but also for the backyard farmer, and anyone interested in rural life, self-sufficiency, and farming techniques of the past, this book is an essential addition to the home library.