BEEKEEPING.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17402, 13 March 1922, Page 3

BEEKEEPING.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION'S HELD DAY. The annual field day of the Canterbury Branch of tho National Beekeepers' Association of New Zealand waft held on Saturday afternoon at the apiary and orchard of Mr A. Johnson, Beckford street, St. Martins, and was largely attended, several ladies being* amongst those present and taking much interest in the proceedings. Mr Johnson extended a hearty welcome to the members and those interested in beekeeping." Mr 0. Pope, the president, also welcomed those present, and said that they appreciated Mr and Mrs Johnson's hospita'ity. _ , Mr W. B. Bray gave an address on. "The Strain of Beea to Breed For," and eaid some wanted a nice gontlo' bee that would not sting, but such a bee would probably not get much honey. His experience had been that the bees most golden in colour were the worst honey-getteis. It was honey-getting and- not colour they should go by. He asserted that the darker coloured bee was the best for honey production. He urged commercial beekeepers to go in for queen rearing; if they bred for themselves they would breed for quality. Mr E. A. Earp, Apiary Instructor, spoke on the prospects of the honey industry from the boekeeper's standpoint, and said that; as regards the South Island, it would be admitted than an advance had been made in that an extra inspector had been obtained, four now being at work instead of three. He thought that next season they would be able to show the benefit that had resulted from the extra inspector in the matter of eradication of disease. Mr Earp some practical advice regarding the wintering of bees, and urged beekeepers not to stint their bees. It did not do, he said, to rely on good spring conditions; it often happened that, owing to the bees being stinted, they were in a low physical condition when spring! came, and not capable of dealing with the spring flow of honey. In beekeeping everything revolved round the word "efficiency"; it was the efficient beekeeper that counted in the long run; they must b? efficient in their •management at whatever period of the year they were working. Referring to the eradication of foul brood, Mr Earp emphasised the necessity for- attempting to prevent "robbing," which was a means of spreading the disease.

Mr Earp then opened upjtwo hives, and explained matters in connexion with the .conditions found. One of the hives contained foul brood, and Mr Earp gave details regarding the steps to be taken to eradicate this disease. -

Mr W. J; Jordan/ travelling representative of the New Zealand Co-operative Honey Producers' Association, spoke at some length on the operations of the Association and the arrangements made for marketing honey in Great Britain. Remarking on the requirements of the law as to percentage of water in honey and the prevention of fermentation, Mr Jordan said that the Government had set aside a scientific man. Mr Waters, to investigate matters connected with honey; the Association was also going to quite a lot of expense to find out how to handle honey satisfactorily. Mr J. Rentoul, chairman of directors of tho Association, said that the honey pool that' had existed for several years had been, to his mind, the salvation of the industry; in view of what the meat people were doing in a similar direction, he thought it would be disastrous if anything were done to prejudice or jeopardise the Association. The honey industry waß a small one, and could not command the same amount of Government support as the wheat grower had received, and which the meat producer was now receiving; the honey producers had had to- finance their own show. Mr Rentoul dealt at some length, with the undesirableness of reverting to the methods ruling prior to the Association being l established, and said that the life of the industry depended on the beekeepers organising for marketing. Mr W. E. Barker, Peel Forest, read an interesting paper dealing with his espeiiene?s as a beekeeper, in the course of which ho referred to the necessity for carying on beekeeping in conjunction with some other industry—fruitgrowing, for instance—so if a bad season were experienced with one, thore was the hope of a good one with the other.

Mr E. G. Ward read a paper on "Beekeeping as an Occupation for Women," in which ho Urged those who took up beekeeping to ao so only if they had a love for the work, and only after they had had some practical experience with a commercial apiarist. Ho spoke of the heavy work involved in commercial beekeeping, and said that, a3 far as the technicalities of the occupation were concerned, tier© was no reason why a woman should not succeed as well as a man. To ensure an income of £l5O per annum from beekeeping, . 150 colonies would have to be kept, and the initial outlay would bo about £SOO.

Mr W. A. Sillifant read a paper on "Bee Management," in which he enlarged on ,the text that the beekeeper who sowed sparingly would reap sparingly, and urged that, in wintering bees, they should be allowed t) aufficiency of food. On the motion of Mr A. Ecroyd, and by acclamation, hearty ■ votes of thanks wera accorded Mr and Mrs Johnson, the. helpers) with the afternoon tea, and those who' bad given addresses and papers.