Bookshelf

A NOTE TO READERS PUBLISHERS AUTHORS

BOOKSHELF enables you to reach interested readers in nearly every country of the world. Bees for Development endeavours to review as many books on beekeeping and development as possible. Send your publication to Bees Development and if suitable we will review it in future edition of this journal. We may also stock it for sale: we are particularly interested to expand the range of books and visual aids on tropical beekeeping. If you know of useful text which we do not stock, but you think we should: let us know about it.

An introduction to agroforestry

by P K Ramachandran Nair

Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands in co-operation with ICRAF, Kenya (1993) 500 pages. Paperback. Available from Kluwer Academic Publishers Group, Netherlands.

Agroforestry has been skilfully practised for centuries, but only recently is there exploration of the underlying principles of these time-tested practices and the possibility for scientifically improving them. This densely- packed 500 page book endeavours to cover the major aspects of agroforestry. It is likely to fill the niche for standard text on this important subject. The main agroforestry systems used in the tropics are discussed and systems used in temperate zones are also included. There is much information on the plant species used for agroforestry, including notes on commonly- used multipurpose trees and shrubs. Other sections cover soil productivity and protection, and design and evaluation of agroforestry systems.

Ethiopian honeybee flora: some 500 common herbs, shrubs and trees

by Reinhard Fichtl and Admasu Addi

Margraf Verlag, Weikersheim, Germany (1994) 550 pages and 600 colour photographs. Paperback. Previously described in Beekeeping Development 32, we now confirm that the price of this book is £63.00 (See Books to Buy)

Rainforest buffer zones: Guidelines for protected area managers

by Jeffrey Sayer

IUCN, Gland, Switzerland (1991) 104 pages. Paperback. Available from Bees for Development (see Books to Buy) price £10.00

A buffer zone is defined as "A zone, peripheral to national park or reserve where restrictions are placed upon resource use or special development measures are undertaken to enhance the conservation value of the area”.

Buffer zones are not new, for example the Corbett National Park in northern India has long enjoyed the physical protection of managed sal Shorea robusta forest; the forest service harvests the timber and local people gather non-wood products in semi-natural forest which provides an extended habitat for the Park's wildlife. Such buffer zones are often excellent areas for beekeeping.

This book gives 58 guidelines for the management of buffer zones around rainforests. These guidelines arise from the examination of 34 case studies of buffer zones reflecting range of situations: not all were successful projects. The author argues that aid agencies’ attempts to work in buffer zones have often failed because projects have been too rigid, too short-term, and too intent on imposing radical changes on people.

Pollen and spores of Barro Colorado Island

by David Roubik and Jorge Enrique Moreno

Monographs in Systematic Botany (Volume 36) Missouri Botanical Gardens, St Louis, USA (1991) 268 pages. Paperback. Available from Bees for Development (see Books to Buy) price £30.00

Barro Colorado Island is in Gatuu Lake in the middle of the Isthmus of Panama in Central America. Why publish survey of the pollens of this island? Because the whole island has been an undisturbed nature reserve since 1923 and its flora has been fully determined. This study therefore provides the first complete key. and photographic guide to the pollen and spores of an entire tropical forest.

The island has a rich mix of tropical plant species representing both the Atlantic and Pacific coastal zones, lowland Mexico and South America. Many of the 133 families and 683 genera shown here have wide distributions, making this text very useful for anyone studying neotropical pollen. The boon contains 97 plates providing photographic documentation of 1210 species, and also key to pollen and spore types. It is not surprising that the work documented here took over 10 years to achieve! The result is unique document of great value as a reference tool for palynologists.

Great masters of beekeeping

by Ron Brown

Bee Books New and Old, Bridgwater, UK (1994) 110 pages. Hardback. Available from Bees for Development (sce Books to Buy) price £16.45

Ron Brown discusses the contributions of 32 people (30 masters and 2 mistresses actually) who have made important contributions to apiculture, ranging from the sixteenth century to the present day. The book combines plenty of beekeeping insight with anecdotes about industrious people who took it upon

themselves to unravel the mysteries of the honeybee colony. The common characteristic shared by all these people is their meticulous attention to detail, making and recording very careful observations of the bees, even when these did not agree with popular opinions held at the time. It is interesting to note that from The Reverend Charles Butler (1559-1647, an observant beekeeper who wrote book containing one of the first bee-forage Calendars) to Brother Adam, (1898-, the Benedictine monk and bee breeder living in Devon in England), over half the leading beekeepers documented in this book are or were ministers of religion.

What does this tell us?

This is an interesting book written in an engaging style, which would please anyone with a curiosity for history and natural history.

The complete guide to beekeeping

by Jeremy Evans in collaboration with Sheila Berrett

Unwin Hyman, London, UK (1989) 192 pages. Hardback Available from Bees for Development (see Books to Buy) price £18.50

A comprehensive guide for people who wish to begin frame-hive beekeeping in countries with temperate climates. All the commonly-used beekeeping concepts are explained. The great strength of this book is its clear layout and the exceptionally good drawings and photographs used to illustrate the basic beekeeping techniques.

Economics of beekeeping industry case study of Tamil Nadu

by E Raja Justus

Rawat Publications, Jaipur and New Delhi, India (1994) 128 pages. Hardback. Available from Bees for Development (see Books to Buy) price £9.50

This text examines in detail the beekeeping industry of Tamil Nadu, a large state of south east India. The author has gathered data on many aspects of the business and produced an economic analysis. The conclusions are: 80% of honey marketed fails to meet quality requirements because the water content over 22%, migratory beekeeping is not managed effectively, and government price fixing affects beekeepers adversely. We are told of one beekeeper in Tamil Nadu who owns 1550 bee colonies and harvests 24,367 kg of honey. Unfortunately, the author fails to inform us of the species of bee that is being exploited. This is nevertheless a useful text that attempts to provide the kind of economic data that is so often lacking from this industry.

Fair trade: rough guide for business

Twin, London, UK (1994) 12 A4 pages. Paperback. Available from Bees for Development (see Books to Buy) price £4.50

“Whosoever commands the trade of the world commands the riches of the world and hence the world itself.” Sir Walter Raleigh The booklet introduces the concept of fair trade by quoting practical examples of companies already showing that it can be done. It details the growth in the consumer movement and outlines the causes of injustice in the existing international trading system. Brief stories and comments from organisations in developing countries show how they are already working to overcome the problems they face. Three different ways to make fair a trade reality are introduced and question and answer section tackles issues most often raised by industry and consumers alike. Finally the booklet gives some tips on how to put fair trade into practice.

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