# Beekeeping and Bees During Colonial Times



## whiskers (Aug 28, 2011)

Interesting read-
viscous thick, sticky
vicious aggressive, full of fight
darned spell checker doesn't tell you if it's the right word, only if you spelled it right.
Bill


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## Rooster (Apr 13, 2015)

Thanks for posting, I found it very interesting.

5 for 5 this winter, "so far".


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Joe, where did you come up with all of that? It seemed like quite a bit of "It is likely" and "Most people believe" and "it is probable". Which makes me wonder what you based what you wrote on?

Are you aware of a piece of currency, a note, put out by the Continental Congress, 1774 I think, which shows a tree leaf of some sort on one side and on the other side a 4 post roofed shed with a shelf that has two skep hives on it? I'll try to remember to get it out of my desk drawer across the street tomorrow and check the details.

Thomas Jefferson's and George Washington's Librarys both contained Diderot's Encyclopedia of 1690 (not certain of the date from memory) which has in it illustrations of numerous kinds of bee boxes, including a glass pyramid hive.

I have a "talk" that I gave to the EAS in 1984 when it was in Williamsburg, VA. I'd be glad to find it and share it with you if you'd like. I have a carousel of slides too. That was some time ago. Modern History.

In 1980 I help set up a display in the Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg. We built a shed like the one on the currency. The Cabinet Shop built us a wooden hive, which could be mistaken for a Warre hive I imagine. Since leaving Colonial Williamsburg I have no idea what happened to that hive.

I'll see what I can find. A lot of my belongings are in storeage. So they are somewhat hard to get to.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I don't know where to find it, but I read an account of a person at Jamestown, VA who had a dozen skep hives behind his house.

The Governor of VA, in 1720, reported Beeswax as one of the items on a list of commodities making up the Gross Colonial Product that year.


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## G B (Nov 6, 2009)

Mark, you could also check with Keith J. He is the only Beek that I am aware of with first hand knowledge of bee keeping practices at that time&#55357;&#56881;


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Meaning he was there then? I don't remember seeing him. lol

Thanks, G B.


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

sqkcrk said:


> Joe, where did you come up with all of that? It seemed like quite a bit of "It is likely" and "Most people believe" and "it is probable". Which makes me wonder what you based what you wrote on?


Be more specific and I can provide a source or explain why I say such.



sqkcrk said:


> Are you aware of a piece of currency, a note, put out by the Continental Congress, 1774 I think, which shows a tree leaf of some sort on one side and on the other side a 4 post roofed shed with a shelf that has two skep hives on it? I'll try to remember to get it out of my desk drawer across the street tomorrow and check the details.


Skeps often appear on bank notes because they are associated with wealth. The image of the skep has been used for centuries In ancient Rome and Greece, bees were associated with every phase of bounty and wealth. Terracotta Beehive savings banks dating to about 2200 B,P, have been excavated in Rome. 20 or so examples found in the graves of children and young women, often being given as New Years gifts. These savings banks are remarkably similar in shape to the traditional skeps used today. Utah still uses the skep image, and also many banks, does that mean skeps are still used in Utah or back yards of banks, of course not.



sqkcrk said:


> Thomas Jefferson's and George Washington's Librarys both contained Diderot's Encyclopedia of 1690 (not certain of the date from memory) which has in it illustrations of numerous kinds of bee boxes, including a glass pyramid hive.
> 
> 
> I have a "talk" that I gave to the EAS in 1984 when it was in Williamsburg, VA. I'd be glad to find it and share it with you if you'd like. I have a carousel of slides too. That was some time ago. Modern History.


Yes, numerous kinds of hives were available then, but rare it was to find 
skep beekeeping being promoted in books even though most people do tend 
to believe skeps were the main bee appliance used then. 

That would be nice to see your history presentation.

Take Care 
Joe


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

sqkcrk said:


> I don't know where to find it, but I read an account of a
> person at Jamestown, VA who had a dozen skep hives behind his house.
> 
> The Governor of VA, in 1720, reported Beeswax as one of the items on a list of
> commodities making up the Gross Colonial Product that year.


Yes, in the case of Jamestown, which at that time was still under rule
of England, they would have been provided provisions which may
r may not have included skeps in return for the commodity of beeswax 
which was far more important in those days than honey was.

Joe


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

naturebee said:


> Be more specific and I can provide a source or explain why I say such.
> Take Care
> Joe


I guess that was my point too. Where does your information come from? Is this something you have studied somewhere or done research on using sources we could all find? I hope I am not coming across rudely.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

naturebee said:


> Yes, in the case of Jamestown, which at that time was still under rule
> of England, they would have been provided provisions which may
> r may not have included skeps in return for the commodity of beeswax
> which was far more important in those days than honey was.
> ...


I don't think that the details of how "bee hives" were first shipped to Jamestown as sited in a ship's manifest, "By this ship and the Discovery, ....", the details of exactly what kind of "hives" they were, but there is some evidence (somewhere where I do not have a site source to supply, only memory of what I read.) that many years later skeps in barrels packed with ice were shipped to Australia.

I'll have to look through my old papers and see what I can find.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Whether this means that Jefferson's Beekeeper, apparently he had a Beekeeper, just like President Obama and Morgan Freeman today, used collateral hives or some other kind, Thomas Jefferson had this book in his Library.Canada."6​Jefferson owned Stephen White's _Collateral Bee-Boxes: Or, a New, Easy, and Advantageous Method of Managing Bees_ (London, L. Davis and C. Reymer, 1756; Jefferson's edition unknown).7

www.monticello.org/site/plantation-and-slavery/bees-and-honey


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

http://www.masshist.org/thomasjeffersonpapers/doc?id=arch_N86&mode=lgImg

The sketch says "bee houses", but doesn't illustrate what those "bee houses" looked like.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/featured-letter-gift-honey

http://www.mountvernon.org/videos-new/watch/honey-bees-at-mount-vernon/


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

whiskers said:


> Interesting read-
> viscous thick, sticky
> vicious aggressive, full of fight
> darned spell checker doesn't tell you if it's the right word, only if you spelled it right.
> Bill


Please send your editing suggestions to my PM. It is important 
to me that grammar be corrected to satisfy the grammar police.  

Best Wises,
Joe


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

Rooster said:


> Thanks for posting, I found it very interesting.
> 
> 5 for 5 this winter, "so far".


Thanks Rooster, Please stay tuned....
I will be posting sometime in the future another article 
that is sure to cause a big stir. I am putting together a article which I 
have worked on for quite some time. I will give a discussion based on 
historical references together with some current research that suggests the 
strong probability that tanging bees "as described in Ancient mythology of 
the Greeks and Romans" was not folklore, and that tanging of bees did
work as an effective means of checking the flight of fleeing swarms.

Best Wishes
Joe


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

My spell check only tells me that a word is spelled incorrectly. I have to google it to find the correct spelling.

"sic floret respublica" is written in a ring around an illustration of a shed roofed structure with two skep hives on a shelf. Around the outside edges of the 45 Dollar note, on two opposite edges, is written "THE UNITED STATES". On the other two opposite edges is written "OF NORTH AMERICA". In the upper left corner of the note, inside the edge bands is "No." and then in the corner way from that it reads "Fourty-five Dollars The bearer is entitled to receive Fourty five SPANISH MILLED DOLLARS, or an equival Sum in GOLD or SILVER, according to a resolution of CONGRESS of the 14th January 1779. 45 DOLLARS" Under which is a signature which I cannot read.

The obverse side shows what could be a clover plant embossed illustration under which it reads "Forty-five Dollars". Under that a line across the note. Under that the words "Printed by HALL and SELLERS. 1779" 

Were I handy with a computer and a scanner I'd show it ye.

I found it. Mine has no serial number and only one signature. But this link shows a pretty good picture of what mine looks like. Cost my Dad $65.00.

http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCurrency/CurrencyText/CC-01-14-79b.html

After further investigation it appears as though the signature on the note I have is Daniel Wister's, Signed "Wister", maybe with a "D" in front. Hard to tell. The second signature has faded. It would have been in red ink, so maybe red ink doesn't stand the test of time. There is also no serial number that I can see. So I believe it has faded also.


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

sqkcrk said:


> I guess that was my point too. Where does your information come from? Is this something you have studied somewhere or done research on using sources we could all find? I hope I am not coming across rudely.


You are coming across very polite. My sources are from
many old 'bee culture' 'bee journals' and other historical
periodicals. From one story you obtain key names and
words that can be used to search more detail. I also
have several history of beekeeping books I look through.
I've been known to contact friends from Cornell who 
have access to great libraries of rare books. Mostly,
they will advise me where to look or help out with
printed material. I've also been at times referred to
a few beekeeping historians to give opinion on a
beekeeping item. 

The fight in importing the Italian
bee was well covered in many periodicals by several
different people who were involved. So it is easy
to get a complete picture of what actually happened,
or may have happened. 

You mentioned the use of the word 'may.' I use the 
word may to express that in my learned experience
from researching a topic, this "may" have happened.
The same as you as a well educated beekeeper might
suggest to a client that you better implement swarm 
control or your bees "may" swarm. It's not a stupid
may, its a well researched may. 

Hey, Love the historical papers you have posted.
They are great! Thanks

Best Wishes
Joe 
.


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

sqkcrk said:


> " Were I handy with a computer and a scanner I'd show it ye.


Get your children to show you how to do it, thats what I do.
I'm finding even the TV remote hard to figure out anymore.

Joe


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

sqkcrk said:


> I don't think that the details of how "bee hives" were first shipped to Jamestown as sited in a ship's manifest, "By this ship and the Discovery, ....", the details of exactly what kind of "hives" they were, but there is some evidence (somewhere where I do not have a site source to supply, only memory of what I read.) that many years later skeps in barrels packed with ice were shipped to Australia. I'll have to look through my old papers and see what I can find.


What I meant was that 'empty skeps' may have been sent from England
to the settlements. Because beeswax was such a valuable commodity
in those days, it would be logical for them to want to support the industry. 

That image you are talking about is on p 355 of 
'The world history of beekeeping and honey hunting' Eva Crane

I think I may have seen it in 'The quest for a perfect hive' also.

It is said the bees shipped to Jamestown probably had a high
success rate because they were transported during winter.
(eva crane)

Historical documents show that a method of wintering bees
in the early 1800's was to bury them, as they use little oxygen 
during winter. This leaves open the possibility the beehives 
could have been placed in the ships stowage without any special 
ventilation, ice or need for cleansing flight.

Best Wishes
Joe


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I tried to talk to Dr. Crane about Colonial Bee History when I met her in Ohio in 1985. But, like any Rock Star, she was well occupied by the likes of Dr. Walter Rothenbuller, Dr. James Tew, and others. It was nice to bask in the glow anyway, so to speak.

Joe, if you can get your hands on an OED, an Oxford English Dictionary, look up the word "skep". I think you might find it interesting. If my memory is correct, most of the definitions are ones of measure and use as a trash can, not as a beehive. Though it is also noted as being used as a beehive. "A skep of coal." "A skep of oats." That sort of thing.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

In "A Valuation of the Commondities Growing and to be had in Virginia" 1620 it lists "Honey, two shillings the gallon" and "Waxe, foure pounds the hundred".


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