HONEY INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 152, 24 March 1938, Page 8

HONEY INDUSTRY

Apiary Instructor’s Address

To Beekeepers NEED FOR CO-OPERATION .' '' i ■ Dominion Special Service. Palmerston North, March 23. “If we are to achieve real unity in this district, it is essential that unification shall start and grow outward from the centre —in this case Palmerston North — and the basis of that unification must be the mutual co-operation and goodwill of the industrial beekeepers themselves,” said the apiary instructor of the Agricultural Department, Mr. H. F. Dodson, in an address at the autumn field day of the Manawatu branch of the National Beekeepers’ Association at Massey Agricultural College. “In the planning and carrying out of the work of my district, I have to bear certain major issues in mind, and not. the least important of these—equally as important as'the control of foul brood—is the awakening of the beekeeper himself to the fact that he is not, and never can be, an isolated producer. He is an integral part of a large and Tapidly-grow-in"’ industry, and as such has a personal responsibility to the development of that industry along the right lines, resulting in an improvement in status of

himself and his fellow producers. It has been said that competition is the life of trade; but don’t forget that it is the death of industry. For any producer of honey to regard another as a competitor is to be labouring under a serious misapprehension.” Dangers of Price-cutting.

Mr Dodson went on to warn beekeepers against the evils of price-cutting. “The lash wish of the price-cutter is to hurt anyone else,” he said. “It is just unfortunate that he does not realise the serious repercussions attending his action and, therefore, I can see that one of the most effective ways of dealing with this evil lies along the same line as the eradication of foul brood, box hives, and other sources of danger—enlightenment. “It is the opinion of the Department of Agriculture that the best method of dealin" with such factors is by instruction, on the assumption that an enlightened beekeeper is no source of danger to his neighbour, because he understands dissease and its treatment, recognises its dangers, and by the exercise 'of due care” prevents the spread of contamination.’ It is in conformity with this attitude that I have endeavoured to put to you the simple fact that price-cutting has a devastating effect on your industry and should be rigorously eschewed.” Checking Disease. The instructor drew the attention of beekeepers to the provisions of the Apiaries Act, 1927. “Any beekeeper who removes a single comb of honey from any apiary to his extracting depot without first having applied for and received permission to do so from the inspector commits a breach of the Apiaries Act, and renders himself liable to a fine not exceeding £25,” he said. . “I need hardly point out to you the wisdom of that clause, and yet quite a proportion of the

commercial beekeepers in my district fail to observe it. To assist them to comply with the Act, I recently seut out seasonal permits to beekeepers operating out-yards, covering all apiary activities. These permits will expire on March 31, 1938, and I would remind them that after that date it will be incumbent on every beekeeper wishing- to remove material f/om one apiary to another to apply for the necessary permit.” “Be constantly watchful for foul brood, for wax moth, and the temptation to compile rather than to co-operate,” Mr. Dodson concluded.