Annotated Bibliography: "Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry"

• Tusser, Thomas. "Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry". England. 1580. Reprinted Kessinger Publishing.

This is a primary source that focuses on husbandry of all animals. Each chapter is a month of the year. There is an abstract and more detail in the second half of the chapter. Suck topics as when to plant and harvest crops, how to deal with pests, and how to take care of animals are presented. Honey bees are featured in six of the twelves months. This is probably because beekeeping maintenance is repetitive once each phase starts. This is an easy read as it written in high English. The font has been updated to modern English as well.

"Maies Husbandrie" - Tusser

Quote from "Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry", by Thomas Tusser:

                 "Take heede to thy bees, that are readie to swarme,
                            the losse thereof now is a crownes worth of harme:
                   Let skilfull be readie and diligence seene,
                            least being too careles, though losest they beene."

         Book Footnote: "The Proverb says, 'A swarm in May is worth a Load of Hay.'  - T.R."

In May, the amount of nectar, honey, and bees grows almost exponentially. When the colony feels the hive is becoming too full, the worker bees will create a set of new queens. The new queens will emerge and fight to the death to see you will remain as there can be only one. The colony will then take the old queen and about one-quarter of the worker bees and leave the hive to find a new residence. This is called swarming.

Swarming was important in the middle ages as this was the easiest way to start a new hive. Losing a swarm was very costly to the beekeeper. It meant one less hive for that season. The remaining colony takes a while to rebuild its population. This slows down nectar collection and honey production. The swarm would eventually increase its numbers, collect nectar, produce and store honey, and possibly swarm again.

"Aprils Husbandrie" - Tusser

Quote from "Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry", by Thomas Tusser:

              "Great troubles and losses the champion sees,
                     and euer in brauling, as wasps among bees:
                As charitie that waie appeereth but small,
                     so lesse be their winnings, or nothing at all."

        Book Footnote: "Our author liv'd in the Reigns of King Henry the Eighth, King Edward the Sixth,      
        Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth: during which time there were several commotions about the taking in of Common Field Land. .... The greatest part of the privileges of Common Fields, etc., are but so   many privileges to wrong and quarrel with their neighbours." - T.R."

This is the only mention of bees in the April husbandry. It appears to be more of a political statement rather than a directive to his (Tusser) wife. Other husbandry entries in Tusser's manual regard running of the hive or bee caretaking.

"Decembers Husbandrie" - Tusser

Quote from "Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry", by Thomas Tusser:

Go looke to the bees, if the hive be too light,
    set water and honie, with rosemarie dight.
Which set in a dish ful of sticks in the hive,
    from danger of famine yee save them alive.

In period, the success of a hive was measured by its weight. A lighter hive would indicate too little honey or too few bees to sustain itself. Tusser is suggesting here to feed the bees in the lighter hives honey water with rosemary added. Sticks were placed in the dish so the bees could stand on them while drinking the honey water. Adding sticks to water dishes is a practice that is still used today.