Story: Beekeeping

In 1839 the Reverend William Cotton published My bee book, a comprehensive account of many aspects of bees and beekeeping. Included was this sketch of a recycled wine barrel converted into a storage chamber to transport bees from England to New Zealand. It was proposed that bees could be put to sleep by cooling the chamber with enough ice to last the journey. Each bee would be wrapped in dairy linen. There is no record of the method’s success.