BEEKEEPING.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 July 1915, Page 10 (Supplement)

BEEKEEPING.

(lly Clematis.) After the continuous wet weather which we have had, look out lor "any damp mats on the hives. On the lirst line day take oil' any damp ones, and replace with ilrv ones, This given a good opportunity to ;i»cerlain if the hi\e s have an ample supply of stores to carry llicm through the winter; if not. feed, with a. syrup of two parts sugar and one of water. Feed in side the. hive with a "division board" feeder, which euii be had at W. Rune and Co.'s. You remove two frames' from I'hc hive and the feeder takes I heir place. Replace the mat, and with a small hole, through which to put the cud of a small funnel into the feeder, you can put syrup into the feeder without disturbing a bee. Feed ill the evening, when the bees are quiet, and have the syrup blood heat.

For my own part, I do a certain amount of feeding out in the open. I have an empty super info which I put the necessary "division board" feeders, pick a quiet warm day, and feed about mid-dav. 1 make, the syrup hike warm, and by the time the bees have all the svrup'consumed they will be settling down for the day. I 'have done this now for two years, and have had no trouble; not even' the least signs of any robbing. It the weather is suitable 1 feed every other day till 1 think the supply is sufficient. Although I have done it with success, I would not advocate its general use. as where one might be successful, others, due to unforeseen circumstances, would he a failure, and have no end of trouble with robbers.

I would just like to say that hives liming a fair amount of stores, probablv sullicient to carry them through the' winter, the feeding inside the hive of a stimulating syrup of one-part sugar and -three-quarter's water, would from now on induce the queen to start oil laving, and one would be surprised at the way they would shell out the brood early in spring. T-iie success of the coming season depends on the colony having a large force of worlicr bees on the wing early in the spring: so do not be afraid to give the syrup from now on. ' r paid n visit to a, beginner in the Bell 'Block district at the end of last season, and found his bees in good order, one being that good that to put them down into one super was impossible. This promises to be a successful apiarist, if she will go on the lines as 1 suggested at the time of my visit. 1 have just received a letter, stating that, when removing a dump mat oil' the hive mentioned above, she wa.s surprised to find several clusters of brood. I might here mention that it is not advisable to interfere with the -brood nest at this time of the year, as brood rearing starts at the end'of the nioiithj and it is necessary to conserve the heat of the 'hive as much as possible.

"Eat thou honey, because it is good!" Honey is not only a, medicine, but also a food, direct froin nature-, the nectar of flowers, gathered, modified, and evaporated by the. bees. No purer or better food ! has been given to man. Every flower produces a dill'erenl flavor; if you don't like one kind, try another. There is more nourishment in a pound of honey than there is in a pound of beefstak'e. Meat contains 115 per cent, water, besides the lihre. which Ts indigestible. Honey is -211 per cent, water, and is almost all digested, leaving no thing to burden Hie system. It, is all used in 'producing heal, and energy. One can eat -i'/db oT honey, and at the present, time ilb. at the price of one pound of butter.

'Mr. A. .1. Hoot says: Many people who cannot eat sugar without having unpleasant svmptoms follow will liud. by careful, test. that, they can cat good, well -ripened hout'V without imv di/lieull v at all. Professor Cook says: There can lie no doubt but that in eating honey our digestive machinery is saved work thai; H would have to perform if we ate cane, sugar, and, in case, it is overworked ami feeble, this may be just the respite that will save from a brciikd'own. 'Children i-houhl be. given all the honey nl each meal time Hint tlicv will eat. '