A Treatise of Bees &c,

Published/Created:

[London]
[ca. 1646-1658]

Physical Description:

1 v. (203 p., with blanks) ; 20 x 15 cm.

Notes:

Bound in modern page at front of volume annotated in a modern hand with bibliographic information and a summary of "T. F."'s biography.
Accompanied by typed transcript of the Treatise of Bees &c only.
Binding: nineteenth-century full calf.
For information on the source of acquisition, consult the appropriate curator.
Blanks not digitized.
Tightly bound with some loss of text in the gutter.

Abstract:

Manuscript on paper, in a single cursive hand, of a practical guide to profitable beekeeping for "any poor man that hath but a cottage and a Yard in it." The text covers every aspect of beekeeping from the initial selection of bees through directions for straining honeycombs. There is lengthy discussion of the proper location of hives, and the author recommends stacked wooden boxes, or "stalls," rather than the traditional straw hives.
The author also comments on his own twenty years of experience with beekeeping; the outbreak of plague in Newcastle in 1636; the destruction of his first hives by the "Scots army" near Newcastle in February 1642; and his decision to write this work despite his lack of notes "haveing much idle time during my imprisonement at Winchester house."
The text is followed by a detailed and heavily annotated thirty page table of contents in the same hand.
"An Epitome of Mr. Levett's Treatise of the Ordering of Bees, by [T.F.?], Arm:," separately paginated, follows the author's own treatise.
Annotated drawings of beehives in the same hand, p. 31 and p. 81.

Topics:

Agriculture--Economic aspects--England--Northumberland
Bee culture--Early works to 1800
Bee culture--Handbooks, manuals, etc
Beehives
Beekeepers--Handbooks, manuals, etc
Plague--England--17th century

Topics:

Great Britain--History--Civil War, 1642-1649
Great Britain--History--Civil War, 1642-1649--Prisoners and prisons
Great Britain--Politics and government--1642-1660

Topics:

Levett, John.--Ordering of bees

Genre:

Illustrations
Treatises

Format:

Text

Rights:

The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Public

Call Number:

Osborn b399

Orbis Record:

7040457

Orbis Barcode:

39002098403505

Yale Collection:

Beinecke Library

Digital Collection:

James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection

oid pointer:

1417097

Citation:

A treatise of bees &c. James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Extent of digitization:

Complete work digitized.

OID:

10171223

PID:

digcoll:3729513