PREFACE 
has devoted his entire lifetime to these subjects, could scarcely be found elsewhere. In this 
connection it should also be stated that he is the author of a popular work entitled The 
Flower and the Bee: Plant Life and Pollination , and of The Honey Plants of North 
America, at the present time in manuscript, but which will be published during the current 
year. Among the articles contributed to the present edition by Mr. Lovell are Pollina¬ 
tion of Flowers, Pollination of Fruit Bloom, Honey Plants, Bumblebees, Solitary 
Bees, Locality, Propolis, and with a few partial exceptions all the descriptions and pho¬ 
tographs of honey plants. 
It seemed very desirable that the article discussing the laws relating to bees and bee¬ 
keepers’ rights should be written by one who was both a lawyer and a beekeeper; and, 
therefore, Leslie Burr, formerly a practicing attorney and now a judge, -who has kept bees 
in several States in the Union, was selected to write Laws Relating to Bees. 
The article on the Anatomy of the Honeybee was written by R. E. Snodgrass, for¬ 
merly of the Bureau of Entomology, Washington, D. C. 
Dr. James A. Nelson, likewise formerly of the Bureau of Entomology, and the author 
of a valuable work on the Embryology of the Honeybee, wrote Development of Bees. 
Mrs. J. H. Comstock, an entomologist of national reputation and a backlot beekeeper, 
wrote Beekeeping for Women. 
The topics, Honey and Honey Analysis, have been handled by A. Hugh Bryan, 
formerly chemist in the United States Department of Agriculture, and now an expert on 
sugars for the American Refining Company. Helpful suggestions and additions have 
been made by E. Wynne Boyden, a grandson of A. I. Root, who has specialized in the 
chemistry of honey. Possibly no one in the United States has given more careful and 
thorough investigation to the general subject of honey as a food than Mr. Boyden. The 
articles on Honey Vinegar and Honey as a Food were written by him. Many of the 
fioney recipes and the article on Vitamines in Honey were written by Mrs. A. L. Boyden, 
a daughter of A. I. Root. It will be noticed that the ABC and X 7 Z of Bee Culture still 
remains very much a family affair. 
The discriminating reader may discover in the treatment of the various articles ap¬ 
parent repetitions of what has been said elsewhere under other heads. Where this occurs, 
it is for a purpose. The restatement of a certain proposition from a different angle nec¬ 
essarily clears up a subject that might otherwise be misunderstood.. For example, it will 
be found that the treatment of Windbreaks under Apiaries and under Wintering Out¬ 
doors, while similar, is enough different to require a special restatement under each head¬ 
ing. Again, in so complex a subject as the management of bees the reiteration of the 
same facts in a different form, as well as from a different angle, helps to make plain to 
the beginner a matter that he should not and must not misunderstand, if he would succeed. 
How to open a hive of bees is considered under the heads of A B C OF Beekeeping, Anger 
of Bees, Manipulation of Colonies, Robbing and Stings. Under the general head of 
Swarming there will be found the subhead, The Cause of Swarming, and likewise the 
subhead, Prevention of Swarming. There is some material under both heads that is 
similar. Knowing the cause, one would naturally apply the remedy; but in explaining 
the remedy it is important that many details in connection with the cause be stated. 
The author has traveled over all the United States and given hundreds of lectures on 
beekeeping; and he finds that many important subjects are misunderstood for the simple 
reason that they have not been amplified enough. It requires line upon line, and more or 
less repetition in a different form and from a different viewpoint. For this reason it has 
seemed best to repeat some propositions from different angles, especially when they are 
important. The author, therefore, makes no apology for the repetitions that occur, not¬ 
withstanding which he is convinced that many of his readers will make some mistakes. 
A special feature of the 1923 edition is a very complete index of general subjects which 
will be found in the back of the volume. This is by far the most complete index: that 
the A B C and X T Z of Bee Culture has ever had. It was thought in a work of refer¬ 
ence like this, altho it is arranged in alphabetical order, making it easy for the reader 
to find any general subject, that an index of all subjects could not be too complete. The 
