The Oamaru Mail MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1880.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 29 November 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1880.

Tub production of honey is, we are glad 1 to see, occupying increasing attention on the part of Colonists. In America, the honey industry is a large and important one, and adds appreciably to the incomes of the farmers of that country. There it has grown into a science. Here it bids fair to become the same, judging from the ' following paragraph from the Canterbury Press " One of thelatesfc additions to the list of local industries is the manufacture of honeycomb foundations by machinery, the same being adapted for use in the barframed beehives. Mr. Broadley, of KaiaDoi, has imported appliances by which he now turns out the foundation of the comb in a manner equal to that made by the bees themselves. The machine, which appears a simple one, is not unlike a small mangle, the surfaces of the rollers of j which are studded with hexagonal projec- I tions. Properly prepared sheets of wax are passed through the rollers, which, as they come out, are found to have received the impression requisite for the bees to commence building cells upon. Among other advantages secured by the use of thi3 material, beyond saving the labor of the bees, is that the increase of drones in the hives is kept at a minimum, whilst the production of honey is largely increased and the comb 3 are kept straight on the bars of the hive. Thi3 machine is the vention of an American lady—Mrs, Dunham. The manufacture of honeycomb in America extends to many tens annually, and the process adopted by Mrs. Dunham, it appears, has the preference among the beekeepera of the American continent." The Americans are a truly ingenious people, and there is, as a rule, utility in their ingenuity. Their startling inventions are not all of the nature of wooden nutmegs. To onr mind, the invention of honeycomb foundations appears to be aa invaluable as it is novel. Mr. Broadley will probably enjoy an extensive trade when the excellences of his new industry have been proved beyond dispute, as we have no doubt they will be before long, provided his ware 3 are inexpensive. The time is fast arriving when the farmers of the Colony will feel the necessity for . turning their attention to the production of honey and the other smaller industries connected with their calling. The value of honey as a commercial commodity is not yet sufficientlyknownto callforth the favorable attention of our farmers. If available in sufficient quantities, it would very considerably decrease our sugar imports. Brewers prefer it to crystals, because it enables' them to produce a brighter beer. In proof of this we are in a position to state that a Dnnedin produce merchant has signified hia willingness to exchange sugar for honey, in quantities, pound for pound. Already he has induced a Taieri farmer to embark in the honey industry by holding out this bait, and the experiment has in every way, we laarn, proved satisfactory. The North Otago Agricultural and j Pastoral Association might extend its use- ]

fulness by encouraging the production of honey in by , offering" prizes for the same at its annual exhibitions. The Association will, we Irrust, learn to recognise the fact that it;will be alike advantageous to itself and, the interests it seeks to serve to cease to virtually draw the line at live stock. In this matter the Canterbury Association has set- an example which might be followed by all kindred associations with advantage. Why is Canterbury taking the lead in local industries I—Because the Association has recognised the importance of extendingits aid to the fullest of-its ability in the fostering of such industries. The prizes it awards are comparatively unimportant as regards monetary value, so that the strain upon its financial resources is not of any moment. The countenance it gives, and the space it affords for displaying such productions before the eyes of the public from far and near are of far more val.ue to a manufacturer than any other form of encouragement.