/. BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2824, 15 July 1916, Page 6

BOOKS OF THE DAY

, tHE APIARIST'S CYCLOPAEDIA. ' "'Money in. Bees, in Austral'asia" is - ihe attractive', title-, of an exceptionally .woll-iUustrated 'and tastefully got-up \olume, by Mr, Tarlton-jtnyment, which las_ just'been publishod by /Messrs. iWhitcombe and Tombs at their Melbourne house.' The book is described as •*'a 'practical treatise on tho profitable . managament of the honey bee in Australia." It is. safe to say that no previously published work on bee-keeping, whether _ produced in Great Britain, 'America,-,or Australia, has approached Mr. _ Tarlton-Raymenf s book in the*, os-i sentially practical character of the in- , formation and advice given and the generous supply of ; wjell-executed illustrations. The author is specially well qualified .for the task he has. undertaken, being a frequent and muchesteemed contributor of . articles on bee • culture .to ■" American', and ; ;perlodicalß. S.* Pender, editor of "The Australasian Bee- - keeper," contributes an introduction, in . .which, after warmly commending the .-. Jwork as "a : concise, and eminx entiy practical guide-book, covering the elementary as well as the .more advanced phases of practical apiculture," he points out that Australasian conditions "are. in. many ways peculiar, so. that works applicable to other lands', are often ineffective here, and involve a great dfeil of sifting and, may be, costly : experiments—to''determine whether 6uch : instructions 'are profitable or otherwise." Every operation 'in bee-keeping is lucid- . 3y described, from tho nailing and setting up of the hive parts lo the .extra ' delicate' operations entailed by the moflern system of rearing queen bees; nor is tho marketing of the lujney and waxcrop neglected in any dotiiil. Sufficient of the natural history-and physiology of the honey beo "has been given to>het the reader's appetite, and to incline liim .to a close study =of - insect, anatomy so that he-may better appreciate thb.'rrar- .- ,vels _of '_ its ' physical organisation: A specially interesting anil valuable ■'feature of the work is tho attention paid by the .author to the honey ; producing.-indigenous flora. ],:; Mr.. Ten- " «er says on this subject;—- ■ "Tho author has artistically attempted • Something quite/original, and has 'euccesstally garaod. a valuable collection b{. in- . teresting dota-i about Australasian plants and. many exotics of value to' a-piculturc. It forms a : -unique work, treated in an artistic manner, _ while devoid as far as Bossible of technical and scientific terms,' ..which malrea it o£. greater, interest to tho majority of readers.. After explaining ...the misunderstandings among bee-keepers idue to the confusing nomenclature o£ the native trees, the author gives a short list ,' cf-ourwattles which' provide . , rioh food for the rearing of the young bcos, and then a lengthy dealing 'with native and exotic plants with- period - of florescence, quality and quantity of honey and pollen, produced, while even . * the various colours are provided." " The illustrations, of which ihere are <. & large number, are exceedingly well produced, and cannot fail to cnhanco ~ the practical yalue of the text. An excellent index is also provided. 1 ' The essentially practical character of the 'information given should'raake the work an indispensable'possession for all, apiarists, . the author claiming that not only tlio ambitious amateur working twenty or ' thirty hives, but .tho. professional apiarist, operating hundreds of colonies scattered through. ,yards miles' apart, but .who is wise enough to agree vhut "one is never too old, to .learn,"-..wi1l find ill his chapters" many, a useful-hint.