FARMING AND COMMERCIAL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1515, 10 August 1912, Page 8

FARMING AND COMMERCIAL.

I BEEKEEPERS' CONFERENCE. SECOND DAY'S PROCEEDINGS. NEEDS OP THE EXPORT TRADE. ..Tho Beekeepers' Conference was continued in tho lecture room of tho Dominion Museum yesterday. , , Mr; C- A- Jacobsen presiding. Mr. L. Bowman, apiary instructor at Christcliurch, referred at some length to tho needs of tho export trade. Ho was convinced that.a'straw or light■ nmborcoloured' honey. would bring the best prices on the English market. New Zealand, ho. said,. although ■practically unknown in the honey world : at Home, could make, a name for herself in honey, such as had been made by butter and,mutton. What' exporters must bo very; .enreful about was that they only sent away the very' choicest article. Given- this Tie was sure .New Zealand would hold her own against allcomers. Another important point whioh could not be overlooked was that a regular supply must be sent forward throughout tha y«ar. This, was imperative as the."English people did not like chopping and changing. To his mind the SGIb. or 601b. tin, two tins in' n crate, was the best means ,of packing. Second-hand tins should not be sent, nor was it satisfactory to pack export honey in paper bags, etc. . The chairman remarked that if they wished to. cater for the Home market they must be much more particular in the get-up, of. the product than they had. been previously. ..After a lengthy discussion Mr. A. Bates moved that the Government should bo asked to establish a grading depot at some convenient port or ports in the Dominion and that'nil honey for .export bo sent there ami graded by- the■ Government and that then the whole, output be"sent to. the English market through one or more firms to "be chosen by- the Government. . i .'-.-.-

After discussion the motion was. withdrawn in favour->of the following:—That this conference'recommend' the Government to provide for.the compulsory official grading of. honey, under, the Produce Export Act. '. The motion was carried by 12 to 3. Regarding the matter of railway rates on products of the apiary, and the safe carriage of bees, Mr. Bray moved. that the conference approach the Government and renew the application made last year 'for various' reductions ; n railway freights. After a brief discussion the motion 'was'.withdrawn. ' ' After various details of the constitution hrid'bcei discussed without anything satisfactory being arrived at, it was decided that a committee' consisting of Messrs. Brickell, Bates, and Jacobsen- be appointed to revise,, and,' if necessary, remodel the constitution of- the National Beekeepers' Association, and submit recommendations to the next conference. .\ Discussing the question of co-operation , , Mr,. Bates did not think they could go very far; - They could, however, combine for export purposes. ' " v ' The chairman thought a committee should be.set up to go into the matterof cp-op'eratiou. : : . The committee set up to go into'the constitution was also empowered to draft a scheme, of co-operation for .submission to the next conference. Referring to tho question ofwhether or not it'is advisable to continue the State apiary- as-.at; present,' Mr. E. C.' Ward ! said that the latest -methods of dealing with queen-rearing should be taken in hand.'SO. as to determine which was the best race of. bees for New Zealand. Wo had followed the lead of America with the Italian bee, but no proof had been given, that this was the best system under oiir-conditions. Experiments might be carried'put with the Italian bee and the'blicjc bee, '■ arid also in. the matter of' hifes:,*..'He -also':suggested that 'a firstclass expert in queen-rearing and the latest methods of-beekeeping should conduct experiments, and ascertain what is tho •best bee for New Zealand, and rear queens in large'numbers for sale to commercial beekeepers at a cheap rate. This being done, he thought beekeepers would drop queen-rearing, and concentrate their attention on honey, production. He did not wish to cast any reflection on the Department, but to help them. More "than one'speaker objected to the Government producing'queens at a cheap price. ' - ■ -..-.- i ■ Mrl. Kifk, head of the. Orchards -and Apiaries Division of the Agricultural Department, said tho Government did not sell its bees or Phoney' in competition with beekeepers. . Ho had been rather, surprised to hear Mr. Ward's suggestion. ■ It. was decided at length that in the opinion of tho cduierence one apiary is sufficient,i-and.that a fully-nualified expert should be put in charge.of it, and given n frec , 'hand; that queens be sold at market 'price, and that the apiary be put directly under tho control of the Apiaries Division "of the Agricultural Department. The conference rose at 5.15 p.m. until this morning, . ,'. , '...,'

NEWS AND NOTES.