BEE CULTURE

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1951, 8 January 1885, Page 3

BEE CULTURE

Fhom the New Zealand and Aiistralim ]Vc •liiuin.il for the month of Januaiy, we clip tin* following editoi.il remarks* — "Still wo have to record a state of things not all satisfactory. The iinfii\ durable change in tin 1 weather which we noticed in our last, continued without intermission liere and all tin ough the Waikato distiiet, from the 22nd of November until the 12th of list month. Dining the time cnu bees mado no head nay .it all in stoiing surplus honey, gatheimg only sufficient to supply then want*. From the 12th to the Kith they pulled up a little when again a, change set in. The present season so far, like the last, has been a most remarkable, one, and cntuely different from the spring and early summer seasons we have been accustomed to. It is the opinion of many people that our climate is undcigoing a change, and in this way they •iccount for the dvnig out of oui peach trees. There certainly seems to be good grounds for their opinion, for while we aie losing our peach tree.s the hardier fniits such as apple, plum, gooselei iy, and other like trees appear to be thriving and doing better than foimeily ; at any rate, it is difficult to account for th« loss in any (ither way. What a remarkable change has taken place during the last two or three years we have nad amplo pioof, but whether it is a permanent or only a temporary one wo have as yet no means of knowing. We remember borne few years ago, when such a fuss was made over the then approaching conjunction of the planets, seeing it stated by several authorities, amongst other wonderful things that were going to occur, that we should expeiienco a great disturbance in the seasons up to 1885. Although most of the things they prophesied have not come to pass they can certainly lay claim to being pretty correct in this matter ; all paitw of the world have been subject to some extraordinary variations in the seasons during the past few years. If this is the true cause we may congratulate ourselves that another like conjunction will not occur in our timo. Thus far in most districts it has not been a difficult matter to keep down swarming within reasonable limits, but should this month prove to be like the same month last year, when most of the season's crop of honey was gatheied, it will need great vigilance on the part of the bee-keeper to prevent it getting the master of him. Colonies that have not swarmed will now be getting very strong, and should have extra room given to them by keeping the extractor going and giving another storey if required. Particular attention will require to be paid to colonies i aising comb hocey to see that the hivos are well ventilated. All strong colonies should have their hives pushed forward on the bottom boards to get the full width of tho entrances, or more ventilation may be seemed by letting the hives project an inch over the alighting boaids ; if the hives are shaded in hot weather it will do much to prevent swarming. Comb honey in sections should be removed from tho hives as soon as completed, crated, and stoied in a dry, airy room till marketed. If convenient they will be all tho better for standing a day or two before being oiated. Extracted honey should be tinned as soon as ripe. We believe the most suitable sued tins for the gonoral market to be 21bs., lOlbs., and flOlbH., tho three latter for family ime. For useful hints on marketing honey we refer our readers to Noh. 9, 10 and 11, Vol. I. Thistles are just coming into blossom, and will be very acceptable to tho bee-koepcr, Il'],ixI 1 '], ix and cabbage palm will also be m blossom shortly. The rata trees in this neighbourhood yielded a profusion of blosaow during last inoafch, but, unfoftun-

ately, they are too far away to do us any service. They are so conspicuous when m blossom that although fully five miles away from our apiaiy in a, diiect line, on a clear day we can see them quite plain. We lu\e not seen many bees on the dandelion* tins season yet, but piobably theie will be nioie on them as the season advances. We .tie getting on a little better w ith our queen tearing and hope to execute all ordeis shortly. [Since wuting the ,ibo\eweha\e seemed about 1400 lbs «f e\tiacted honey, making in all between 2300 and 2400 lbs.]

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