18th century bee keeping - fairfieldhistory.org
TRANSCRIPT
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18th Century Bee Keeping
and the Ogden House Honey Project
A Whitdogg Production
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Honey bees were important to the colonists.
• Europeans did not drink water – Ale predominant in
England • Barley sowing
– Rum imported from West Indies
– Cider more self sufficient • Brought apple trees and
honey bees
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Honeybees were brought by early settlers.
• Transported in straw skeps in a wooden box.
• The box sat on the deck at the stern of the ship.
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There were other important reasons for bee keeping.
• Medicinal value of honey – Used with other herbs to cure many ailments (coughs) – Applied to open wounds to prevent bacterial infection
• Culinary value of honey – Preservative for ham and fruits – Quick energy source – Mead, a drink made from honey
• Beeswax value – Make candles – Waterproof leather – Preserve wood – Bind wounds
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How the colonists made honey.
• Early Spring – Place the skeps surrounded by
bee-loving plants and empty skeps
• Summer – Queen produces many new bees – Population becomes too large for
the skep – A number of bees create a new
queen and “hive off” to an empty bee skep
• Late Fall – Using a burning rag, beekeeper
destroys all but one bee skep • Winter
– Protect bee skep for next year's production
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Two bee skeps in the Ogden House garden will represent this practice.
• No bees inside
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The Ogden House Honey Project
Goal: • Bring public awareness to the historic importance of
honey and Ogden house
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What's the buzz: the who, what, where.
• Tess Brown: beekeeper, adjunct English professor, Fairfield University
• Two hives to make raw honey – Propolis – Strengthens immune system
• Oaklawn Cemetery
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