WAIKATO CLOVER HONEY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3032, 19 December 1891, Page 2

WAIKATO CLOVER HONEY.

TO TIIK KDITOH. Sir,—The issue .if December Stli of your i>i|f>r citi'iiitis an account of tlie removal of 100 colonies "f Ivies from Ohaupo to Pateter; by Mes-iM Kirl Br.-.*. The reason given by the reporter for the vmiwvjl (whether it is as stated hy Messrs Karl or not) is, " They find that between sheep and the green caterpillar clover in Waikato is hiving a hard time of it." Further on it reads, " owing to the scarcity of clover the bees resort to the Mix, dandelion, ti-tree, and other flowers. These do not produce such good quality honey as the whit* clover." The report reads, "in Waikato," which includes, and therefore reflects, unintentionally no doutt, on the localities in which our apiaries are situated and consequently on the quality of the honey raised by us. With regard to "sheep and green caterpillars," in our localities many farmers have sown less grain than formerly ; laying more land do.vn in clovers and grasses for sheep grazing, which makes quite an extensive addition to the large area of clover land grazed hy cows being milked tor the Hamilton, Newstead, and Tauwhare dairy factories. As to green caterpillors, we have seen none of them, and can truthfully say that we have never beforo had a better puspect of a. larg>) yield of "white clover honey." The following I think is good proof of how extensively our bees are working on white clover. Recently at Tamahere before a thuudershower, when the bees were swarming in to escape the coming rain, I counted 200 bees laden with both pollen and honey enter a hive, and of these 19b' carried white clover pollen as against four laden with other varieties. If the honey being gathered was clover in proportion to the pollen, as there is no reason to doubt, then it was 98 per cent, clover honey. I venture to say, without fear of contradiction by the Messrs Karl, that the chief reason of their removing their bees from Ohaupo is, that ever since they commenced beekeeping, they have been troubled more or less by thick unextractable honey gathered from the titree in the Rukuhia swamp. The above swamp is the onlv place in Waikato where I know of the existance of honey-producing titree, but it may grow in other parts. I may say that we s're slightly troubled at the beginning of the season by the bees from our Claudelands apiary crossing the town and gathering unextractable honey at the end of the Rukuhia swamp adjoining the Hamilton Lake but we do not get any at our other aoiaries. Some will say what about the great outcry you raised the year before last about thick honey ? That season there was an extraordinary growth of flax flowers with a heavy flow of honey, the bees leaving fit-Ids white with clover to work on | it. We saw no flax honoy previous to that time and have seen none since. In conclusion I would say that I consider Messrs Karl have done a wise thing to shift their bees to a better locality than that previously occupied by them (in fact I am surprised they did not move sooner) from which, judging by reports they may be able to turn out a sample of honey not to be surpassed by any in New Zealand; or to be patriotic, by any in the world.—l am, etc. A. !•/. Hoims. East Hamilton, December Hth.