BEE-FARMING CADETS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 810, 6 May 1910, Page 8

BEE-FARMING CADETS.

OCCUPATION. FOR FARMERS' DAUGHTERS. .■ : fßee farming has always seemed to me a fine thing for farmers'-daughters, to take up," said 3lr. Isaac-Hopkins ; tb-a T Dominion representative yesterday. "Most of these 'girls have very'little money And , poor. Drospects of earning- much.'on. the farms.' When a girl gets to about Eeyenteen.or so she likes-.a bit of finery. .The farmer's daughter sees her. cousins coming-tip from town with clothes that she cannot afford to buy, and she gets ■(discontented, and in many, cases, goes into town to ! -work in a factory . somewhere. !Now, it would be very much better for everybody if that girl could be put in the way of doing better for herself on the farm than she can hope to do in, town. Bee-keeping offers to her the chance she wnuls. It in most interesting work, and there is good solid money in it." . . ■-.••'.

1 Mr. Hopkins, who for many years waa .-■ Government Agriculturist, has just con- ■ eluded his work for the Department of ; !■ .igrioulture by examining the cadets at the Government Apiaries on the experi- /. ■ jnent farms at Ruakura, Waeranga,. and •■ '■'■: Wereroa. There , are'at. present seven ; cadets, on- the' farms,'; five'girls and two' young men. These cadets'are! taken, cm ~-: in' September, and continue on through ;•'■-. the. season -until the end of April. They eee the work from the building up of the- ■•..-,. .colonies ready, .for-the.first honey flow, [:. they learn .to take the honey right ■-.■-.- ; {through: .the season, and finally they tin ■.- 'it 'ready for: the market. ■■.The"cadets ■ find themselves in board and lodging. ;i-. They pay no premium, and they receive ■ '■ The-number of. , cadets taken -.., ds' limited only by the accommodation ... available, in the vicinity, .of the experi- .. ■'.. ment farms-', Unfortunately there is not mnch suitable accommodation to be had iwithin haiidy reach of the farms at present. . , .' . At the end of the season the cadets aro' : - : examined, and if their work , is satisfac- '■'•.' tory they receive a Government certifl- ■ cate. ' One season's training alone is not sufficient.to make a thoroughly-quali-fied bee-master, but it is possible in, a ' season to. get a thorough grounding, so as to be able to start an apiary without making mistakes.. Tho rest is a matter : of Bee-farming in New, ZeuJ ' land, thanks to Mr. Hopkins, is far and widely known, and one young lady *adetto has come all the way from Victoria to take the course. Another was : .corning from Tasmania, but had to post- -.' lione- the trip until next season on ac- >'■ tount of" sickness in her family. In : the last. three seasons .twenty ■ cadettes ■ have. been put through the course, and young men also. Three of the y ■ yonng ladies 'are in charge of Govcrn- ; . . iment apiaries, and the others are doing well for themselves. . v ' , ■ ; Asked what could be made out of bees, Mr. Hopkins gave an from which ... -prospective bee-keepers can make their «wn calculations.. One apiarist, in Now . : Zealand' began this last season with .800 , hives, in eight or nine : apiaries. From those 28 tons of honey "had been obtained. This honey would fetch about £i 0 a ton in New Zealand."' The gross Income wouTd, therefore, be about i>ll2o , ■for the season. ■ An industrious bee-farmer . who' worked early and late would probably; Mr. Hopkins estimated, net about : ■ .£7OO of this for himself. His''BOO hivos would cost him about 2os. apiece, and he would have to erect buildings worth about '■ ■• a capital-outlay of £12011. The. ; bee-former would want a house and section to live on, of course, but his apiaries vould be scattered about on different ; farms on little fenced-in patches of land, : nhich he would rent.for next to nothing. : A- very ordinary bee-farmer ought to ' make at least .£SOO per annum out of . SOU hives, representing a capital outlay . of .£1200.. Apiaries of 300 and 400 hives are becoming quite common in New Zea- . iand, and Mr. Hopkins says he expects ' to see: some of tho bea-farmcrs owning 11/00 hives before long.,

. . .'The "Hawera Star" states that cow.s have he'en'- "coming in" recently, in such numbers as to make certain that moro dairy- ,' Ing will be followed this winter in South Xaranaki than'has.been tho case hitherto. It Trill thus be unnecessary to store largo, Blocks of. butter for consumption in New Zealand during the winter season. All tho year dairying is .becoming increasingly popular in this district. Ivot only the . large factories but'many of the branch factories and creameries., will be kept in operation. ■ , A spell of dry weather is being experienced in South Canterbury, and in a tew parts rain is anxiously awaited. The road* are lyins inches thick in diist, and . the .carting of grain, has cut deep ruts ,in come roads. - ' ' It is said that there is. a shortage of oats in South Canterbury just now, and buyers find it hard to secure lines nt Toecnl market quotations. The price is expected by some persons to riso to 2s. 6d. per bushel. Congestion at the SmithfieM and Pareora freezing works, near Timaru, still continues, says a South Canterbury correspondent, and has bad the effect of upsetting farmers' arrangements and causing general inconvenience. Often drovers who have taken fat lambs to tho works jliave had. to return with their flocks because of the shortage of space.