Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey Free

Forums New posts Search forums. Media New media New comments Search media. Blogs Authors. Members Current visitors New profile posts Search profile posts. Log in Register. Search titles only. Search Advanced search…. New posts. Search forums. Log in. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Buckfast Abbey. Thread starter nantmoel Start date Jan 27, Help Support Beekeeping Forum:. Digging my way through loads of photographs and found these, I would guess I took them around on one of my many visits there. Joined Jul 1, Messages Reaction score 1. I have some from much earlier taken by David Kemp, when that wooden fence was a perfectly manicured hedge. Very nice apiary looks pristine, what hives are they. Where on the grounds was the apiary. I see a bit of stone wall in one photo. Are the bee boles located in that wall. I think the apiary is Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey the north of the conference centre car park - the area I've highlighted on the satellite image. This time with attachment!!! Repwoc said:. Thanks for posting the pictures. I'm intrigued by the ramps leading up to the entrances of the Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey. A sort of ground to entrance landing board. Anyone have any information about them and why Br. Adam used them? I can't recall them being mentioned in any of his books. There must be a reason somewhere Beefriendly said:. Bees love a landing board, the bigger the better I visited Buckfast Abbey a couple of years ago, I was amazed that there was no information regarding B Adams work with Bees to be found anywhere, I did wonder where the Apiary would have been so that has satisfied my curiosity. I also worked out Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey the isolation Apiary was and went to see it, unfortunately I discovered that access is via a private road so could go no Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey, I know now that it is still being used by a Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey member which is nice to know. Cuckmere couple said:. Walrus said:. It was so that a clipped queen that attempted to swarm could crawl back. The hives came from America made by A. Adam used to run 10 frames plus a division board in a 12 frame box, and they were bottom bee space unlike normal Dadants. Hive Type other Number of Hives Sloping entrance ramps have two uses. One is so a clipped queen can get back in the hive. The other is that heavily loaded returning foragers often miss the entrance. Giving them a simple way into the hive increases honey production measurably. I don't recall details, but there was a study done about 60 years ago comparing production between hives with and without entrance ramps. The results were in favor of ramps. You must log in or register to reply here. Latest posts. High mite count Latest: The Poot 6 minutes ago. Beekeeping Forum. Moving from standard National deep to 14x12 Latest: hemo 16 minutes ago. Bee trees Latest: hemo 24 minutes ago. Beekeeping Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey Latest: victor meldrew 29 minutes ago. Your Xmas wishlist Latest: derekm 42 minutes ago. CBPV - what to do Latest: jenkinsbrynmair 48 minutes ago. Beginners Section. Buckfast Abbey | Beekeeping Forum

I t is not an easy task to make a report on beekeeping as it is pursued at Buckfast Abbey in South Devon. There are also certain factors which, although significant, we consider to be of secondary importance; these include the type of district, the climate, Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey whether the bees are kept for a hobby or on a commercial basis. In this short article, we shall deal with these secondary factors first, inasmuch as they are characteristic of the methods used in Buckfast; after this we shall give a description of our special methods of queen rearing, which we regard as the essential principle upon which our success rests. B uckfast is in the south-west of England, only a few feet above sea level and only a few miles from the Atlantic coast. This situation, and the influence of the Gulf Stream, determine the climate; here we have neither the severe winters of the Continent nor their long, continuously hot summers. The weather is extremely unsettled and changeable, but on the other hand the close proximity of Dartmoor offers the advantage of a second honey flow in August, just after the main flow from clover in June and July. Sources of nectar of secondary importance are: willow, blackthorn, hawthorn, sycamore, blackberry and fruit. Among the fruits, apple blossom is of real importance; we have no cherries, pears, etc. T he structure of our hives and equipment is in line with these circumstances. The Buckfast Abbey hive is similar to the Modified Dadant, but accommodates twelve frames instead of eleven. The honey supers are half as deep as the brood boxes, i. We have also made several important changes in the design of our hives and equipment to facilitate rapid and comfortable operation, and to simplify transport to the moors. Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey t present we have colonies for honey production. They Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey distributed in ten out- apiaries of colonies each. We do not have our hives in rows according to the general practice in England and America, but in groups of four. The entrances of the four hives in each group face outwards and in different directions north, east, south and west in order to minimise drifting. O ur management is intensive rather than extensive, and our goal is a high annual average honey production from each colony. We have so simplified all our equipment and methods that a minimum of time and labour is required, since everything unnecessary has been avoided. On the other hand the aesthetic aspect of apiculture is by no means neglected. T he average annual honey yield over the last thirty years has been 30 kg 66 lb. Thus we have a favourable balance compared with the average production in America or in Europe. We claim Buckfast as the holder of a record achievement in honey production not only in Great Britain but probably in the whole of Europe, namely the greatest honey inflow over a five-day period. Another eight colonies did only slightly less well. However, it is not the records of individual colonies that count, but the high average production from the entire apiary over many years. O ur harvesting equipment was designed to tackle big honey crops with ease in the shortest possible time, and the extracting equipment is entirely power driven. The Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey machine has a steam-heated knife which moves horizontally. The cappings fall on to copper steam coils in a container; these promptly melt the wax which then separates from the honey. As honey falls on to the coils at a considerable rate, there is no danger of its Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey spoilt by overheating. There is only a momentary contact of the honey with the coil, and an outlet provides for the drainage of the container, leading the honey into the extractor by means of a pipeline. The wax, which has a lower specific gravity, floats on the top of the honey and is run into moulds automatically. In earlier years we had found the pressing of heather honey a very troublesome job, but by means of a hydraulic press of special construction we have overcome the difficulties involved. T he extracted honey, whether centrifuged or pressed, is pumped into storage tanks. We have eleven of these, each of 2. Automatic control of the temperature of the water circulating in the coil has been provided, and this prevents overheating of the honey. An automatic bottling machine fills pound jars an hour. T he problem of equipment depends so much upon the circumstances that it is useless to set up any fixed rules, and for this reason we regard the equipment as a secondary factor. T he solution of this problem is of major importance to every beekeeper; and it means breeding the best possible queens of the very best Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey for every colony. By means of systematic queen rearing undue swarming can be prevented, a high average honey yield can be Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey, and resistance to diseases so strengthened that disease will appear only as an exception. This statement requires a short explanation. We do not believe greatly in the various treatments generally recommended for bee diseases, such as the Frow treatment or the use of sulpha drugs. These may retard the spreading of the disease, but they certainly do Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey stop it. In this country, and especially in the vicinity of Buckfast probably due to its particular climateacarine disease is prevalent. However, by means of careful Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey breeding throughout a period of twenty years we have overcome the inherent susceptibility to this disease to such an extent that it practically never occurs. Whenever we introduce bees from any other district they succumb to acarine disease within a year or so. Our wide experience in the campaign against acarine disease, which goes back to the years when it reached the peak of its virulence, has shown clearly that resistance and susceptibility to this disease are inherited, and moreover that they are inherited through the queen; the drone has no direct influence on this resistance or susceptibility in the first generation. Whether this is similar with the brood diseases has yet to be proved, but our observations have given ample indication that resistance to them is inherited. It requires many years of wide experience and exceptional knowledge to breed this quality and at the same time to retain other characteristics of economic importance. In our opinion the increase of resistance is the only way to attain permanent freedom from bee diseases. T he Buckfast bee is a cross between the native British and the Italian bee; this cross Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey produced thirty-five years ago, shortly before the native bee was exterminated by acarine disease. In the meantime no fresh blood has been introduced into the strain, except for experimental purposes. The harmful effects of inbreeding, which have now been demonstrated in America as a result of artificial insemination, were clear to us twenty years ago. Continuous inbreeding is possible only when it is practised on a sufficiently large scale; experience has taught us to rely on a number of breeding queens for the breeding of both queens and drones in order to eliminate undesirable characteristics, and also to obtain optimal results. This is the only method by which we can make valid comparisons on which to base our selection Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey the purest strains and the most productive offspring; it is also the only way by which real progress can be made every year. For instance last year we bred from six breeding queens; this year our average crop has been This Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey not a chance occurrence, as these 22 colonies were distributed among all our ten out-apiaries. Moreover, the colonies which give this high performance also have all the other good qualities which we have aimed at. T he appearance, gentleness and prolificity of the Buckfast bee are similar to those of the Italian, but the excellent vigour, the longevity and the unique white capping of the native bee have not only been retained but greatly improved. Other qualities which have been achieved through our breeding are resistance to acarine disease, absence of propolising and of swarming. A ll this would have been impossible without a queen-mating apiary. The Swiss beekeepers have given the world a valuable example by their scientific bee breeding and by the introduction of mating stations. Artificial insemination is of great scientific value, but the use of mating apiaries is still the only means by which we can produce reliable super-quality queens. W e have already mentioned the close vicinity of the wide heather-covered plateau of Dartmoor, and there, after a long search. Also, Dartmoor offers the striking advantages of being almost uninhabited and of having no trees whatsoever, and the climate on the moors is so rough that no swarm can survive. O wing to the particular climatic situation, we had a difficult problem to solve in the design of our mating nucleus hive. We made numerous experiments to find the Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey best suited to our purposes. The first trial was made with half-size British standard frames, in boxes accommodating four nuclei, each of three half-size frames. Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey proved to be very Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey for summer use, but they were too small for overwintering. In the end, the Dadant half-frame proved to be the only suitable one for our needs; consequently we built our mating boxes to accommodate 16 Dadant half-frames, dividing a box into two crosswise to take them. Another division lengthwiseby means of moveable division boards, Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey four compartments each holding four half-frames. These mating nuclei can support themselves in a normal summer, and are strong Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey to overwinter the fertile queen; on the other hand they are small enough to prevent the breeding of drones. O ur feeders are designed to suit this type of hive, and they depend on the same principles as those used in our honey producing hives. All the four nuclei have simultaneous access to the syrup. At present we have mating nuclei, Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey enable us Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey overwinter approximately fertile queens in the mating apiary. O ur stock allows us to requeen our colonies every spring with queens which are in the full vigour of their Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey. Article by Brother Adam, O. English adaptation from the German by G. Extract from The Bee World31 12 Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey,p Translation from the Schweizerische Bienenzeitung73 2, Brother Adam — — Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey

Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey the problem. Return to Book Page. Emphasis on general observation. Includes a section on mead making. Get A Copy. Paperbackpages. More Details Original Title. Other Editions 3. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Beekeeping At Buckfast Abbeyplease sign up. Be the first to ask a question about Beekeeping At Buckfast Abbey. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of Beekeeping At Buckfast Abbey. Mar 12, Ahmad Abdi rated it it was amazing Shelves: honey-beekeeping. A lot of insight and wisdom shared in this book. This book enabled us to get a taste of how much Brother Adam mastered beekeeping and took it Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey another level where all details are important and everything works as a whole system. Seems like a mission rather than just beekeeping. No wonder the Buckfast bee is Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey a superb bee. Overall a very good read. Aug 08, Tadge OBrien rated it really liked it. Good read though not a ton of specifics. The generalization is enough if you read or watch other sources about beekeeping. Jeff Kennedy Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey it liked it Apr 12, Kathryn hodder rated it it was amazing Jan 08, Alex Fernandez rated it it was ok Aug 11, Jacob Carlson rated it it was amazing Aug 22, Chloe rated it really liked it Mar 12, Duncan rated it really liked it Apr 20, Joseph A. Ethier rated it it was amazing May 23, Catherine Robertson rated it it was amazing Jun 04, Randy rated it liked it Nov 23, Kim rated it liked it Dec 08, Cynthia Holt rated it really liked it May 30, Heather rated it really liked it Jun 12, C J rated it it was amazing Feb 12, Guilherme rated it really liked it Mar 07, Frank Mortimer rated it it was amazing Nov 03, Scott Martin rated it it was amazing Aug 17, Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey rated it it was amazing Jul Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey, Bonnie Cassida rated it it was amazing Jan 03, Andre rated it liked it Feb 11, Max rated it it was amazing May 23, Bogie rated it really liked it May 09, Jonathan rated it it was amazing Mar 24, Qazqaz rated it it was amazing Apr 20, Hollis Willoughby rated it really liked it Oct 10, Gwenn rated it really liked it Feb 20, There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Readers also enjoyed. About Brother Adam. Brother Adam. Early in the twentieth century, one of the youngsters who came to Buckfast Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey Germany with a view to joining the community was assigned to assist Br. This was Br. Adam Kehrle. He began helping Br. Columban at the tender age of twelve, but he was des Karl Kehrle OBE, known as Brother Adam, was a Benedictine monk, beekeeper, and an authority on bee breeding, developer of the Buckfast bee. Columban at the tender age of twelve, but he was destined to continue working with the bees for over seventy eight years and Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey become an Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey authority in the field. Soon after Br. Adam joined Brother Columban, thirty out of the Abbey's forty-six colonies were wiped out by a disease known as Acarine. All of the bees that died were of the native British black bee variety. This bee was renowned for being hardy, but somewhat ill-tempered. The bees that survived the outbreak were all of Italian origin. Inafter Brother Columban retired, Brother Adam was put in charge of the bees, and he set about rebuilding the colonies. His intention was to use cross-breeding to develop a new bee which would be hardy like the black bee, but disease-resistant like the Italian bee, and a good honey producer. Brother Adam made extensive journeys all over the world to get breeding stock. He concentrated on countries with a distinct indigenous race of bees, going chiefly to isolated country regions where the purity of the native strains had been maintained. He even went to the Sahara. Over the years, he travelled more thanmiles in search of bees. Books by Brother Adam. Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day. To create our Read more Trivia About Beekeeping At Buc No trivia or quizzes yet. Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account.