The Italian System of Bee Keeping by Arthur J. Danyell is a short illustrated explanation of Don Giotto Ulivi’s economical frame hive and honey extractor. Published at The Field Office in London in 1876, it adapts notes that had appeared in the newspaper.
A preface by W. B. Tegetmeier places the hive in relation to Huber’s leaf hive and emphasizes simplicity, cost and the connection between movable frames and an inexpensive extractor. The book then follows construction, colony handling and the honey harvest.
An Italian system presented to British readers
Danyell writes from experience in Italy and explains why he thinks the equipment deserves attention in England. His introduction discusses the adoption of Ulivi’s system and the economy claimed for it.
The book is therefore a focused account of a particular hive and its associated method. It does not attempt to be an encyclopedia of bee biology or every form of apiary management.
This narrow scope is useful for readers interested in the history of practical design. Hive construction and the way a beekeeper works the colony are presented together, making the equipment’s purpose easier to understand.
The Giotto hive
The second chapter describes the hive and its arrangement of frames. Drawings show the roof, the hive with its covering in place and the structure exposed.
The text explains how the separate frames form the working body of the hive. It discusses supports, fastening, the entrance and the relationship between the frame assembly and its weather protection.
A section on making the frames gives dimensions and describes the wooden pieces and joints. Detailed drawings show a completed frame and the shapes of individual parts.
These are the booklet’s most useful pages for readers studying historical hive construction. Read the measurements alongside the drawings and the author’s explanation of how the parts fit together.
The preface also considers obtaining accurately cut pieces from a sawmill. That observation connects the design with the materials and workshop capabilities available to its intended readers.
Placing and stocking the hive
The management chapter begins with the situation of hives and the handling of bees. It then explains transferring combs from older hives into the Giotto arrangement.
Natural and artificial swarms receive separate attention. The author describes how a hive can be stocked with a swarm and how bees and combs are handled during the process.
These passages show why a new hive pattern could not be introduced by construction drawings alone. A keeper with existing stock needed a way to move bees into it, while someone beginning with a swarm faced a different set of operations.
The account preserves the author’s period methods and assumptions. It is most useful when read as a connected system rather than as isolated instructions detached from their original equipment.
Extracting honey while preserving comb
The final chapter introduces the smielatore, the honey extractor used with the frames. Illustrations show the apparatus and the way a comb is supported.
Danyell explains extraction by centrifugal force and the return of combs to the bees. This relationship between harvesting honey and retaining usable comb is central to the equipment he is advocating.
The text describes operation of the extractor and mentions an arrangement for larger apiaries. It also discusses removing bees before taking honey and cleaning the apparatus afterward.
For readers interested in homestead equipment, these pages provide a compact case study in designing a harvest tool around a reusable biological structure.
Records, winter food and stored frames
The closing sections cover a register of swarms and honey, winter feeding and storage of empty frames. These topics extend the booklet beyond building a hive and taking a single crop.
The register connects observations with the results of an apiary. Stored frames and winter food connect the harvest with the colony’s next season.
Historical handling and feeding advice should be compared with current local beekeeping guidance before practical use. The original prices and economic claims describe the nineteenth-century setting.
Audience and scan
This free ebook suits readers studying early movable-frame hives, agricultural woodworking and the development of honey-extraction equipment. Its drawings and concise organization make it a useful companion to broader beekeeping manuals.
The PDF contains 34 digital pages, including covers, preliminary pages and advertisements. Some preliminary contents and introductory material are repeated in the scan; the main instructional text runs through printed page 24. Enlarge the frame details and extractor drawings when consulting dimensions.
Book details
- Author: Arthur J. Danyell
- Publisher: The Field Office, London; printed by Horace Cox
- Year: 1876
- Edition: 1876 edition; preface by W. B. Tegetmeier
- Digital length: 34 PDF pages
- Language: English
- File size: 0.93 MB
