1890 - Mr. Grabbe Has the Last Word

This is my last post on Grabbe and Perrine, as the Floating Apiary scheme seems to have evolved over the years from a nomadic herding of the bees into a simpler seasonal shifting of the apiary from northern summering grounds to southern locations in the winter. I still wish there was more of a photographic record.

I added some ads from this issue of The Bee-keepers Review; don't you like the sound of Dr. Tinker's Specialties?!

THERE has been so much said in the Review by those who know a part and guess the remainder of the history of C. O. Perrine’s migratory expedition of 1878, that I feel it incumbent upon myself to set at rest many rumors, errors and misstatements made by misinformed correspondents.

First, it is conceded that the expedition was a financial failure. A writer in the September No. of 1889, stated that “Mr. Perrine and Grabbe were taking things coolly in New Orleans when it was of vital importance that the expedition should be on its northward way.”

It is not in the nature of Mr. Perrine to take anything coolly. Industrious, energetic; the man who began the honey business in Chicago years since with a peddler’s basket on his arm, and worked up an annual sale of honey, maple syrup, etc., of about $300,000 yearly, displayed in the inception and promotion of the migratory expedition the same driving originality that had signalized his past.

He had been preparing for the expedition for over a year. He had visited France, Italy, and other places abroad and at home, to consult with the most successful bee keepers; and in 1877, with faith in his own ability and ample capital, he made arrangements at New Orleans to solve the great problem of migratory beekeeping. But for unforseen and unavoidable accidents and delays, that expedition would certainly have demonstrated the entire feasibility of Mr. Perrine’s theories.

The plan was to be ready to leave New Orleans the last of March, when the bees had about completed storing surplus from the willow bloom, and, moving from thirty to forty miles per night, advancing with the blooming vegetation and foraging days, until the vicinity of St. Paul, Minn., would be reached, about sixty-five days later, foraging the entire voyage. Unfortunately the second bee-barge was not completed on time. It was not until May 14, about forty-five days late, that the two barges and tow started north' with about 800 colonies of bees on board.

By this time the white clover was in bloom near St. Louis. About seventy miles above New Orleans there was a serious break down and some machinery had to be sent back to New Orleans for repairs. This caused a delay of several days. Near Baton Rouge several days more were lost by a break down. The resistance of the current, too, between the bluffs, was too great, and, as the tow boat was of inadequate power the barges were abandoned about 300 miles from New Orleans, the bees transferred to the steamboat and run up the river near St. Peters, Mo., about forty miles above St. Louis. The season being too far advanced, the bees were landed, and a fair crop of honey gathered in the fall from Spanish needles.

The test was not a fair one, and the $20,000 sunk in the enterprise proved to Mr. Perrine, at least, that, with an early start and proper facilities, the enterprise would have been a success.

Since then I have been getting through from New Orleans from D. McKenzie, Camp Parapet, La., (near New Orleans), populous colonies. Several shipments being made during the month of May. The swarms are transferred to shipping cases, well ventilated, and they arrive here, in Libertyville, in about six days. The journey does not destroy unhatched brood, as I have had many cast large natural swarms about ten days after their arrival, and store some surplus honey from apple blossoms. All bees I have had shipped from New Orleans during the month of May have paid me about seventy five per cent over the bees wintered here in northern Ill. With a good season here I can realize 100 per cent by the migratory system above the ordinary bee keeping in northern Illinois.

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill., April 3, 1890.

Published in the Bee-keeper's Review.

1879 - Photo of Frederick Grabbe's Floating Apiary

Until I found this brief news note in the American Bee Journal from November 1878 I had no idea Mr. Perrine's story was linked to "another" American floating apiary story I was going to post, one about Mr. Frederick Grabbe.

Mr. C. O. Perrine, proprietor of the floating apiary, returned to Chicago last month— also his managing bee-keeper, Mr. F. Grabbe. The St. Charles Review, of Oct. 19th, says:

"The apiary (of 600 colonies) is at present located in Calhoun County, Illinois, near the bank of the river, and will remain there till the last of November, or until the yellow fever subsides.

The bees will then be loaded on barges and moved down the river to the vicinity of New Orleans, where they can begin work upon the soft maple and the willow blossoms, the latter part of January. Early in the spring the barges will be started up the river again.

The design is to travel nights and lay by during the day for the bees to gather honey—the object being to keep the apiary among perpetual flowers throughout the season."

Frederick Grabbe's own floating apiary story I found at the 51st Regiment Illinois Volunteers web site (read their info). It is the only photograph I turned up of a barge being used as a floating apiary!

Fred Grabbe also was the Business Manager of the American Bee Journal under the Editor Rev. W. F. Clarke which places the date at 1873-1874. In 1882 he is noted as being a great believer in the superiority of the Louisiana willows for over northern varieties, although he was in the employ at this time of C. O. Perrine who was puffing his southern willow honey.

http://51stillinois.org/grabbe.html

Grabbe was another one of the entrepreneurs that make interesting reading. He hooked up early in his career with a gentleman who had money and they had fun starting businesses!

I found a nice essay about them on the Libertyville, Illinois library site. M. M. Baldridge, also from Libertyville, wrote into the The Bee Keepers' Review, 1889-

"In reading the Review on Migratory Bee Keeping, I was somewhat surprised to notice that you had nothing therein from F. Grabbe who now lives at Libertyville, Illinois, and who had more to do with the Perrine enterprise than any one else, aside from Perrine himself.

Mr. Perrine engaged Mr. Grabbe to help him in the fall of 1876, I think, and kept him' more or less employed with the bees until the spring of 1880. He was in charge of the barges of bees at the time friend Balch joined them, with the bees in his charge, at Vicksburg. It was at my suggestion that Perrine first employed Grabbe and after I had refused to work for him."

Frederick Grabbe may have had the entrepreneurial spirit like Mr. Perrine, but Grabbe also seems to have had commonsense and beekeeping experience. Perinne must have driven him nuts!

January 1892 - Nice Catalog Cover Art - A. I. Root

My enjoyment of detailed engravings makes me want to share this cover. I like the little dude going about his work at the bottom of the graphic.

When I looked up the engraving company (name at feet of beekeeper) it turns out Murray was a beekeeper himself! How cool is that?

What are the lumps by the hives? Bushes for windbreak?

1878 - "Commodore" Perinne Rubs Root the Wrong Way

Amos Ives Root

A. I. Root had something to say about Perrine's floating apiary project at the end of this letter from Perrine describing his bee barges in more detail than previously posted.

Perrine's penchant for blowing his own horn about future success continues to a problem for many people in the bee business!

PERRINE'S FLOATING APIARY.

THE FIRST FLOATING APIARY ON THE AMERICAN CONTINENT.

I PROMISED to give you some description of my bee boats. &c., &c., and will now do so, but pardon me if it is not full enough, as I have only a few hours each evening to attend to my correspondence, having to look to my apiarian interests through the day.

I bought two gunwale barges, each about 110 x 34 ft. and decked them over 7 ft. from each side inwardly leaving 10 ft. open space, deck about 5 ft. from bottom, roof over open space about 7 ft. high forming a cabin, thus making roof 2 ft. above deck. I first have a space at each side of boat, on deck, of 2 ft. for outer gallery, to pass before the bee hives, then 2 ft. space for the hives, then 3 ft. space behind the hives for inner gallery; this takes up the 7 ft. There are 6 tiers of bee hives, one above the other. I have an upper outer and inner gallery 7 ft. above the deck, from which we are to work the upper 3 tiers of hives.

This describes the outer tiers of hives; the inner, start from the top of the cabin roof and are 5 tiers high. The back end of the hives are flush with the cabin roof, or say the eaves, so that the inner gallery of 3 ft., spoken of, is between the backs of the outer and inner hives allowing both tiers to be worked conveniently between the fronts of the inner tiers of hives. There is 6 ft. space all the way up to the top of the boat, 12 1/2 ft. high, and this space is not roofed, allowing the bees to fly freely up and down through this space to and from their hives. The outer tiers of hives allow of free horizontal flight of bees. There is a roof 14 ft. high at the eaves, over the whole boat, except the 8 ft, space running through the middle. The arrangement at the ends is the same as at sides with trifling variation.

The whole structure is supported by over 200 stanchions running from the bottom of boat to roof firmly secured by spikes, bolts and braces through stringer and carling. The hives are placed, as it were, on shelves firmly secured and easily removed.

The hives are not perfectly shielded from sun and rain on the outside tiers, but rain will not hurt them and the sun can only strike the fronts; and as I have nailed on upper half of the space of the porticoes wire cloth and door to confine the bees below this, which when opened covers over the wire cloth and shields the front from the rays of sun, I have little to fear from the sun.

Each boat will hold over 900 swarms under cover, and if I choose, I can put a few on the roof, making it over 1000.

I have now between 400 and 500, I will buy a few hundred swarms here and a little further up the river, which in all, with my own swarms, will give me by the middle of April—the time I propose to start up the river—about 1200 hives, or 600 on each boat. I expect to have, at least, fifty per cent increase going up the river. I am not counting on too big things.

I hope to reach St. Louis early in June, and will continue my trip, arriving at St. Paul, Minn., about the last of July.

Bees are now and have been working on the different varieties of willow, so abundant in swamps in the South, ever since early in February, and will continue to do so, with some other tree bloom for a month yet, say 8 to 10 weeks on willow, and working hard every day they can get to work.

Willows on Mississippi. source

Bees are all in good order in my apiary and have just begun to swarm. Of course some are stronger than others, the strongest have gathered within the past 10 or 12 days, 30 to 50 lbs. of honey, some in sections and some in large frames for extracting, and this before swarming time, with hives not full of bees.

Four to 6 lbs. of honey per day is pretty good I think, and such beautiful honey too, not strictly white nor of a high bouquet, but a smooth pleasant honey somewhat like peach bloom honey. Now and then some one objects to a slightly bitter after taste that is noticed when the honey is eaten by itself, but at table it is not noticed. It wears better than any honey I ever ate or gave to friends.

I am going to insert here there are multiple reports that Perrine, as a dealer, adulterated his honey with glucose...so maybe a slightly bitter taste would be adjusted later?

I expect to work on willow for the first 600 or 800 miles, and perhaps get some white clover for a short time about the last of May or first of June, and to wait for basswood which I expect to follow from below Cairo to St. Paul, nearly 1000 miles and nearly two months. Those who know what basswood yields, can perhaps imagine my expectations as to quantity to be gathered by my then 2000 hives of bees.

Cairo, Illinois - Located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers

My intention is to return from St. Paul to some point above St. Louis and stay during Aug. and Sept., returning south in October, when I think I have a reasonable expectation of having 3000 to 4000 hives of bees, probably more than were ever managed by one person.

I will have a good tow boat of my own so as to control its movements. I will do my moving at night, stopping every day, probably, as it would not do to lose a day of work.

In my experiments, labor and purchases, I have spent money liberally—nearly $15,000 since I first came down here—and if I succeed in demonstrating the practicability of a floating apiary will you feel badly because I have made some money in the honey business in years past so as to be able to take a little money from my business to do this? But suppose I fail, will you say "foolish man. I could have told him so?" or will you give me credit for the 18 months of unremitting toil of brain and muscle, and try to encourage me to try another season to make a success of it?

Towing boat by steam—up stream, is expensive: one party proposes to tow me up to St. Paul and back to New Orleans for $1000.00 but I can do it much cheaper owning a steam boat myself, perhaps for half that sum.

Typical small paddle wheeler. History of...

There will be a crew of 15 or 16. or perhaps 20 persons on the fleet, and as I expect to accompany the enterprise, "Commodore Perrine" as some of my friends here insist on calling me, will have his hands full.

We are extracting from nearly 100 hives, and shall ship to Chicago, in a few days, between 2 and 3 tons of extracted and section box honey, and soon afterward, a shipment to Europe where my customers are awaiting new honey with their mouths open.

Mr. Fred Grabbe (post about Grabbe to follow this) formerly of Kansas and Illinois, has been with me over a year, and has the immediate management of the bees, a man of large experience, practical, energetic and an untiring worker.

I can not close without a word about the pleasant winters here -no snow—a few frosts, a little show of ice once or twice during the season, not too much rain, and in February flowers: and now all in full bloom, and to crown all, the air is now full of condensed orange bloom: some 20 trees about my house fill all space with their fragrance.

Well, I have written more than I thought I would. If your readers don't understand my description, or have curiosity to see, I hope to see all who will take the pains to come to see us any where along the river.

Will try to keep them posted where to find the boats as we go along.

C. O. Perrine.

New Orleans, La.,

March 20th, 1878.

Many thanks, friend P., but have you not "mixed" something somewhere, when you intimate that I might feel badly if you should succeed, and say, "I told you so, if you should fail'?

I fear you did not read what I said about floating apiaries a couple of years ago, when I asked who would first volunteer the money for the experiment. If anybody attempts to say "I told you so," Gleanings will be the very first one to square off for a fight—a friendly one—for whether you make a success of it or not, I am sure some one will.

We certainly are as smart as the ancient Egyptians on bees, even if we never did build any pyramids, and now friend Perrine I want you to get just the very best photo of your floating apiary, that ever you can, and we will get the best engraver in the country to engrave it for May Gleanings. I do not believe in saying very much about what great things we are going to do, for it is much better to do them first and then tell about it; but I hope we may both be excused a little this time.

1911 - Miss Kehoe's Philadelphia Roof Bees

There is nothing about an ankle length white summer dress to make me think of a working beekeeper. In fact, the thought of tending my bees in a skirt gives me the heebie-jeebies! Hats off to Miss Kehoe and all my beekeeping sisters in the past who did just that however.

DETERMINED to benefit by the work of others while she worked herself, Miss Margaret Kehoe, a

Vine St. still looks like a good place for hives!

stenographer in an office building in Vine Street, Philadelphia, hit upon the plan of starting an apiary on the roof. It was a roof that lent itself readily to the idea and with the consent of the owners of the building Miss Kehoe installed her bee hives. Now there is a thriving colony of honey-makers busily engaged in gathering honey and storing it for the benefit of the clever little girl who originated the idea.

Very few of the office workers in the neighborhood know of the existence of this roof apiary. The roof is not overlooked by other buildings and as adjoining roofs are not visited by the tenants the apiary established by Miss Kehoe is not interfered with and no one is the wiser for the innovation. The bees give very little trouble. As any one knows who has possessed an apiary the little collectors go about their business day by day and require no attention. They feed themselves, manage their own affairs and ask only to be let alone to toil the merry day through.

If they realize that the honey they are so industriously storing is to benefit the owner of the hive and not the bees themselves they don't let the knowledge trouble them or interfere with their daily program. The keeping of bees being one of the profitable experiments that can be undertaken without any great effort, at slight expense and with scarcely any labor involved, the originator of the roof apiary finds it no tax on her time or her resources to manage the little honey business she has established.

The only outfit required in starting an apiary of this kind is a hive or two, a colony or two of Italian bees, a veil, a smoker and a little practical knowledge added to the book learning that any one can acquire from a volume borrowed from a library. The apiary can be started with a capital of twenty-five or thirty dollars and if you have no roof on which to keep the hives, and no back yard they can be kept on the porch.

As the popular idea of bees, however, is that they are vicious little insects, given to sting on sight and at times showing a fiendish desire to attack in a body, it is well to start the apiary as Miss Kehoe did, out of sight of every one and where there can be no possibility of interference with the industrious little bees.

Miss Kehoe has only been familiar with the habits bees for a few months, but she has entirely lost all fear of them and has learned that the popular idea of the viciousness of bees is entirely wrong. To prove this she permitted two clusters of bees to swarm on her her arms and in one of the pictures she

can be seen with the masses of bees held in this way, smiling at the camera, not the least bit nervous and confident that the bees would be gentle with her, as indeed they were.

It would not be possible to take these liberties with the old time black or hybrid bees. But the advance made in the bee keeping industry includes the importation of the Italian bee, a much more gentle variety than the older kind. The Italian bee will not sting unless driven to it in defense of his home and his honey. Miss Kehoe wears a veil sometimes when working around the hives, but at times she works entirely without the protection and is never stung. In fact she wears the veil more to keep the swarms of flying bees from her face and eyes than from any fear of harm from them. There is also, she declares, a great deal of exaggeration concerning the harm done by the sting of a bee. If brushed off quickly the bee sting, which is left in the wound with its store of poison, is harmless. The mistake made is to try to pick out the little sting with the thumb and finger. In squeezing it this way the poison is pressed in and the very object that is to be avoided is accomplished.

It may be expected that Miss Kehoe will duplicate the experience of another city beekeeper who writes:

"Began the season with three colonies; divided and swarmed to nine and took 362 sections of fine honey late in the fall. I have spent about $100 since beginning, but now have nine good swarms, 25 supers and three empty hives with everything complete and the outfit worth over $200. Altogether I have taken 622 sections of honey of which $115 worth has been sold. All my honey sells for 25 cents per section and I sell out as fast as I can deliver it."

It should be remembered when comparing the plan of beekeeping with that of chicken raising or any of the kindred ideas that the suburbanite or city dweller has for raising money, that the bees require no feeding, they shift for themselves all the time, they are working for you without any cost to you, they take up little room in the establishment, are not likely to get you "in wrong" with the neighbors if properly placed as those of Miss Kehoe's are, and the initial outlay is scarcely anything.

From: The Technical World Magazine, 1911

1878 - The Unsinkable Mr. Perrine and His Floating Apiary

The editor of The Bee-Keepers Magazine in 1878 announced the new obsession of Mr. Perrine...a floating apiary. People still were astounded by Perrine's rudeness to his British hosts the previous year.

"We understand that since the return of Mr. P. to our shores he is reviving the ancient practice of floating apiaries and that he will have a barge of sufficient capacity for one thousand hives to ply up and down the Mississippi the coming season.
Starting probably from New Orleans about February, coasting along by night and casting anchor by day to afford his "Cyprian and Egyptian pets'' a chance to explore the new world and gather in its luscious nectar, he will finally arrive at the mouth (end) of the Big Horn River at the close of the honey season. "

Neither trustworthy beekeeper nor businessman, Mr. Perrine seems to have lived in a dream world. The incredibly seductive idea of floating apiaries grabbed him hard, and, to his credit, he got the barges fitted out. If you know bees at all, this tale will have you shaking your head!

This article is from the British Bee Journal, February 1879.

THE AMERICAN FLOATING APIARY.

At the West Illinois and East Iowa Convention, held in October last, Mr. Perrine was requested to give a word-picture of his floating apiary, which he did as follows:—

'What first induced me to go into it, was the want of white comb honey. I can got all I want of coloured honey, but want hundreds of tons of white honey for my house. I began the honey business at Cincinnati in 1865, removed to Chicago in 1869, where I continued the business, keeping my hands at work, peddling direct to the consumer. I wanted to extend my business and did so in the Eastern States, afterward in Europe.

I received some lots of very nice honey from California, and depended on them greatly for my supply of white honey, but it did not come. I got a big order from Europe, had a great deal of trouble to fill it, and could not do it entirely. Could not get such honey as we wanted to ship there.

'We packed comb and extracted honey in jars and had great difficulty from its candying. Boiling honey hurts its flavour. I went into the country to see bee-keepers about getting nice honey by migratory bee-keeping. Going from place to place could get no encouragement.

I went South and found lots of white clover, have travelled in the South considerably.

I thought I could make a good thing by planting some seed of good honey plants, so I got $60 worth of melilot clover seed, and I have it yet. I tried to get land to plant it on, but could not get it.

Then I resolved to try the floating apiary, and began to build two barges.

While not with a honeybee this photo is of Melilot,
Yellow Sweet Clover. It was an introduced species
in the US but became famous for the amount
of honey a pasture would yield.

I was kept from starting as early as I wanted to, fully six weeks, by a variety of causes beyond my control. I did not get as many bees as I wanted. Our machinery broke down twice, which threw us back eight days. We were getting behind all the time, so we closed up the hive, with wire cloth. Our colonies were strong, and we lost about fifty by smothering. Owing to lateness of the season, I concluded not to go far North and put my bees on shore about sixty miles above St. Louis. My bees are in good condition for wintering.

The floating apiary is an experiment yet. I put about $12,000 in the venture, and I shall keep trying till I know whether it will succeed or not. I invite any of you who wish, to come down and see us. I expect to take my bees to New Orleans this winter. I may not bring all my bees North, but keep some down there for experiment. I propose to try the house-apiary principle on the boats.

I would like to ask some one who knows, if bees notice colour more than form. A great many bees get into the river, possibly 2o per cent. The rivers in the South run on ridges, and when the river rises, it runs over into bayous and deposits soil, slanting off into the swamps. The little streams all run swiftly. There are many peculiar things about working barges: have to keep the same side of the barge to the shore all the time.

I propose to put the bees on the boats this time in cold weather, then they will come out and fly a few at a time. I think bees return to their hives more by form than by colour. I have tried different colours. We got but few new swarms, the honey did not come in fast enough. I had a little steamer that cost me $2900, and sold it at a loss of $900. I thought of going up as far as St. Paul, but owing to difficulties could not do it. I propose to tow my bees only by night next year. My boats are near 120 feet long. I shall wait till the weather is quite cold before I go South.'

1877 - The Enthusiastic Mr. Perrine

What a mess Mr. C.O. Perrine seems to make of everything related to honeybees, business and public relations!

In this story the insensitive Mr. Perrine seems to have amused our British beekeeping brethren with his American braggadocio and gaucherie.

Did Victorians roll their eyes?

This article was found in the British Bee Journal of November, 1877.

_________________

MR. C. O. PERRINE.

The American Bee Journal (Oct. 1877), in an editorial, says—

'A letter from C. O. Perrine, who is now "going the rounds" in Europe, informs us that he intends to visit Italy, Egypt, and Cyprus Island, and will bring good queens of several varieties with him. He called on friend Abbott, Editor of the British Bee Journal, and expects to see him again.'

In reference thereto we beg to say that memory reflects the pleasure we enjoyed in seeing Mr. Perrine, and making the acquaintance of so prominent an American bee-keeper. In the course of converse he gave us charming accounts of the 'big' ways and means of our brethren on the other side of the 'pond,' and inflated us with an idea that it would be pleasant to many gentlemen bee-keepers of England to meet our worthy American cousin, and enjoy a quiet conversazione.

Mr. Perrine had already proposed that we should invite a few prominent English bee-keepers to meet him at the Charing Cross Hotel in London on his return from his 'rounds' in Europe; but foreseeing the difficulties which might arise from shortness of notice of his return, we, with masonic love and respect for our American brethren, undertook to provide a festive 'at-home' on the occasion, where Mr. Perrine should be the honoured guest.

Mr. Perrine wrote from Paris to say that he would be at the Euston Hotel on a named date, and would meet us a day or two afterwards in London. We wrote to him at the Euston Hotel, reminding him of the arrangement already mentioned, and informing him that our English friends, of whom nearly fifty had been invited, would be prepared to receive him at 'Fairlawn' with due honour and respect; and that is all we know of Mr. Perrine, for he left our shores without acknowledgment or farewell.

We are, however, assured that he did not visit Egypt or Cyprus Island, and that his 'variety' of queens was obtained from Sartori, of Milan.
—Ed. B. B. J.

______________

Consider this post an introduction to an interesting man, and check back for Perrine's next astonishing adventure.

Queens all came from Sartori? I had to look it up.

A 1905 American Bee Keeper filled me in and Google even had BienenVater issue so we can see the illustrations. Boy, I love the internet!

LUIGI SARTORI

Prehaps no other bee-keeper has distinguished himself in Italy to the extent that Luigi Sartori has. His name is know not alone in Italy but also in parts of Asia and Africa. He was born in Primicro, Tirol, a province of Austria on the 24th of April, 1834, studied German apicultural literature and adopted the movable comb at an early date.

In 1856 he had hundreds of movable comb-hives in his yards. The Bienen-Vater of Dec. 1905 an Austrian bee-periodical has not only a fine portrait of Prof. Sartori but also a picture of his apiary as it appeared in 1856.

In 1862 he commenced to write for the press and in 1880 in connection with A. von Rauschenfels he wrote an extensive book on bee-culture which has been highly commented on and which brought him many honors. The book is said to be the best and most extensive bee-book written in the Italian language.

In 1869 the professor received a call to go to Milan where he established large apiaries from which he sent thousands of Italian queens and swarms of bees to nearly all parts of the world. He constructed a hive which has become very popular in Italy.

Many distinguished men, men of no ordinary standing came to him for instructions in apicultural matters. In 1880 the Russian minister, Boutouchin, engaged him to establish a number of modern apiaries in different parts of Russia. He also went to Egypt for similar purposes. The King of Italy, as well as Emperor of Austria, conferred great honors upon Sartori for his meritorious work, the advancement of apiculture.

— Condensed from BienenVater.

(It is now January 24, 2017in NE Connecticut. My one hive is still alive, actively flying on warm days and using some of the dry sugar feed. Fingers crossed for February. Planning oxalic vapor treatment soon. Have 3 packages arriving first shipment this spring.)

1791 - Floating Apiaries and Bee Bells

What a laid back life...shepherding honeybees on a barge lazily making its way down a river or canal system, timing your arrivals to coincide with flowering crops and vegetation!

This post references the earliest mentions of this movable apiary concept.

1908, on the Nile...

A Mr. Cotton, whose book I cannot find, but is much quoted, says

'In France they put their hives in a boat, some hundreds together, which floats down the stream by night, and stops by day. The bees go out in the morning, return in the evening; and when they are all back and quiet, on the boat floats. I have heard they come home to the ringing of a bell, but I believe they would come home just the same, whether the bell rings or no.'—Cotton, p. 89.

'I should like,' he continues, ' to see this tried on the Thames, for no river has more bee-food in spring ; meadows, clover, beans, and lime-trees, in different places and times, for summer.'

I don't think I can top the charm of the bee bell anecdote! :-)

This following excerpt from the Apiary section of 1834 The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Difussion of Useful Knowledge describes the bee barge business.

The expedient of transporting apiaries to distant places, so as to take advantage of the seasons when different flowers are in blow, has been resorted to in various countries, particularly in Egypt, and along the great rivers of Europe.

Benoît de Maillet...Getty Images

M. Maillet, who was French consul in Egypt in 1692, informs us that, about the end of October, all such inhabitants of Lower Egypt as possess hives, embark them on the Nile, and convey them upon that river to Upper Egypt; calculating to arrive there at the time when the inundation is subsiding, and the lands having been sown, the flowers begin to bud.

The hives being come to this part of Egypt, are there placed pyramidically in boats prepared for that purpose, after being marked and numbered by the several owners. Here the bees feed in the fields during some days, and when it is supposed that they have got in all the honey and wax that can be met with within two or three leagues round, their conductors convey them in the same boats two or three leagues lower, and remain there as long as is necessary to enable them to collect all the riches of the new station.

Thus the earth forwards its productions, and the plants come into bloom in proportion as they come nearer to their place of abode. In time, about the beginning of February, after having travelled through the whole length of Egypt, they arrive at the spots whence they had set out, and return to their respective habitations: for care is taken to set down exactly, in a roll or register, every district whence the hives set out in the beginning of the season, their number, and the names of the particular persons who sent them, as likewise the mark or number of the boats, in which they were placed according to their several habitations.

Niebuhr saw upon the Nile, between Cairo and Damietta, a convoy of 4000 hives in their transit from Upper Egypt to the Delta. (The honey contained in the hives that Niebuhr met upon the Nile was the product of Apis fasciata, a species of bee extensively cultivated in Egypt.)

'
Goldsmith describes, from his own observation, a kind of floating apiary in some parts of France and Piedmont.

They have on board of one barge,' he says, 'three-score or a hundred bee-hives, well defended from the inclemency of an accidental storm; and with these the owners float gently down the stream; one bee-hive yields the proprietor a considerable income.'

Why,' he adds, 'a method similar to this has never been adopted in England, where we have more gentle rivers, and more flowery banks, than in any other part of the world, I know not; certainly it might be turned to advantage, and yield the possessor a secure, though perhaps a moderate income.'

1791 - Oliver Goldsmith - A history of the earth: and animated nature

Later, from the 1865 American Bee Journal, the writer comments:

From verbal information imparted to Dr. Gerstacker, we learn that neither Ehrenberg nor Dr. Earlmann observed during their travels the transportation of bee-hives on the Nile. Hamiueischmidt's careful inquiries in the year 1865 have established the fact, that at present migratory bee-keeping is not pursued in Egypt. All modern accounts, therefore, which represent migratory bee-keeping as being still customary in that country, are, of course, unfounded.