BEES & BEEKEEPING. . (By Cincinnatus:)

Waikato Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1236, 1 June 1880, Page 3

BEES & BEEKEEPING. . (By Cincinnatus:)

In my last letter I promised to give some further infortnation on this subject from practical sources together with some instructions as to making boxes &c. A correspondent has since then forwarded me an account of a visit paid to the apiary of Mr Hopkins at Parawai, with a request that I should give it a place in this column. Believing that its insertion would result in conferring much benefit upon beekeepers I gladly comply with the request. The paper has already been printed, but most of my readers could not have seen it : — Mr Hopkins has for several years experimented on the various methods of managing bees; these experiments we have long been a,ware of, and have seen in his perseverance that he would one day succeed to his heart's content, for he has left no stone unturned in order to gain all the knowledge he could concerning the busy bee — its instinct, its habits, and its culture. And having adopted the j latest American methods and having obtained all the American appliances for the successful prosecution of the business, we presume He can hardly fail, and we heartily wish him God speed, while his snccess, we are certain, will stimulate many all over the colony to follow in his. footsteps. We lately had an invitation to visit his new place at Parawai, and to examine his apiary, which is situated at the back of the Rob Roy Hotel. The situation i struck us, for various reasons, as soon as ' we saw it as most suitable for the enterprise of the proprietor. Mr Hopkins at once proceeded to open up his whole method and process. This gentleman has very wisely, as we think, adopted the American method in all its branches. His hives are what are termed bar hives, which for simplicity of construction and convenience of manipulation it seems to us have no superiors. We will first describe the hive as to its outside appearance. It consists of a box about 20 inches long, 16 wide, and ten deep, substantially constructed, with double inclined roof, which serves as a cover or cap. This can be removed in an instant, thus exposing the whole inner arrangement, while at the same time it affords the keeper every facility to handle the bars or frames within which the little insects skilfully build their cells from a square cake or sheet of the prepared wax which hangs suspended from the top bar of the frame. These hives are all painted white, and they are all constructed of the •same size ; thus, if required, they can be placed one upon another so as to form several stories. As for the bars or frames, they are of two widths — for breeding combs, about one inch ; for store honey combs, about two inches. These are simply dropped into the hive and hang upon ledges made to receive them, and so the hive is filled up with both widths of frames. To remove any one of these frames while the bees are working is the simplest thing imaginable. Mr. Hopkins did this in ou. presence in broad daylight from a hive in full operation, yet the bees seemed as if they were quite used to the entrusions upon their privacy, and took but little notice of the action, but kept on at their work as if nothing had happened. We conceive that bees are in this respect very much like men, and get used in time to much that is really contrary to their natural instinct as well as becoming acquainted with the people who manage them. But mark, whoever would enter into this business must never shew any fear of the little creatures, for we are certain they can discern who fears them and who does not, and not being the subjects of fear themselves they appear to detest it in those who manage them accordingly. Yft it will not answer for a manager of bees to approach them as a bull would a post, he must approach them quietly and cautiously, and in all the manipulations of the new method, he must not be excited, but exercise great tact and patience; lest he kill some of the busy creatures for nothing perhaps, so annoys bees as the smell of their slaughtered fellows, while their care for the queen exceeds the belief of all except those whe well understand their instinct^, but it may be witnessed by anyone who will examine a new awa m jubt emerged fiom a hive and settled on some bush ; she will always be found siumunded by her protectors in the centre of the bunch. By the above method of management every bar or frame in the hive can be removed and examined, and a^ all tte frames are made exactly of the same measurement, and will fit any hive, so, wenk hive.-> can at any time when necessary, be supplied with breedingcombs from strong ones. This process also altogether does away with the fear of losing a hive that is deficient of food in the wimer which often happens under other methods of management, for it can be fed from a hive that has plenty, while if any enemy should have ensconced itself in any part of the inteiior it can be immediately removed, and so the hives can be kept cleun from all =iuch intrudei s. By this method also frames holding from one to three or four pounds of honey in the comb can be produced fit for exportation to any part of the world. This struck us as the nepltts ultra of perfection of the system, seeing that so many consume s of honey prefer to purchase it in this condition. Mr H. showel us a large strong hive, the inmates of which were manufacturing these handy little packages, one of which may be seen at the office of the Star. We now pass on from the hive and its bars to a machine termed an extractor. This machine is not the least important part of the system, for every one knows, that has had anything to do with bees, the difficulty there is in obtaining the honey clear and pure from the comb, and fit for commerce. This machine, however, does it in next to no time, and as if by magic. It consists of a well shaped cylinder about 2| feet deep, snA one foot in diameter, made of metal, -within which is a movable apparatus on which to hang the full bars or frames. Two or three of these are inserted, and then the apparatus is rapidly turned round by means of a small handle, when the who'e contents of the combs are violently thrown out, and the honey finds its way to the bottom of the cylinder, where it is drawn off by means of a tap. By this process the comb 3 are left as perfect a< when fir-r constructed, and are returned to the hive for the bees again to fill them— which they do with pleasure. The snviug of boo labor and of manual libor through the ingenuity of our American CSu.uns is that remarkably apparent by the ac'ion o? the extractor, and yet tho proyaas is so. simplo that w intelligent

child can manage the whole business. Mr Hopkins deserves well of our fellow colonists for the introduction of this simple and yet effectual American system amongst them. There is nothing of selfishness about our friend, he is willing to instruct those who will visit' him in the whole process. His chief object seems to be to make New Zealand, which is far behind the rest of the world in this interesting and lucrative business, a great honey producing country, knowing well that he who sows for the bpnefit of his fellows in general will be sure to reap a rich harvest for himself, juhl we add, he well deserves it. Would that the rulers of New Zealand, from the foundation of the colony had been of the same unselfish character ! Had they been so, the colony might by this time have been second to none in the British Empire, but, unfortunately, it has been the reverse. They have, as a rule, sought fii>t to fill their own pockets and the pockets of their friends with all the best of the prizes, and have left the email ones and the blanks to be scrambled for by the general population, but they may do as best they can with them. The resources of New Zealand are great and numerous, but we require an unselfish and liberal government that will encourago in every legitimate way the development of these resources, and if this is not speedily forthcoming, the whole colony mu»t soon get into a terrible mess.