John Mills
An essay on the management of bees. : Wherein is shewn the method of rearing those useful insects; and that the practice of saving their lives when their honey and wax are taken from them was known to the antients, and is, in itself, simple and easily executed.
London : J. Johnson and B. Davenport, 1766.
x, [2], 157, [2] p., 2 leaves of plates (1 fold.) : ill. ; 22 cm.

Call no.: SF523 .M461

Mills’ essay on the management of bees immediately states its intention to help spread methods for harvesting honey without killing the stock of bees in the hive. Previous to the mid-eighteenth century, most beekeepers raised bees in straw hives (skeps) into which the combs were firmly fixed. In order to remove the honey, beekeepers routinely killed the entire hive, resulting in a much reduced profitability.

An Essay on the Management of Bees contains chapters on issues such as how to purchase bee stocks and how to utilize bee boxes. Interestingly, while expounding on new methods of management, Mills manages to resurrect some old ideas, such as the notion that worker bees are true neuters.

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