NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume VII, Issue 1121, 7 January 1886, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

A party consisting of Messrs. Searling, Paul, and others, who some time ago ascended the Patea river, on a prospecting tour, have returned, but with unsatisfactory results as regards the original object of their mission, no gold having been seen. They went up the east brsnch of tbe Patea, and report that above thirty miles from Stratford there is a splendid stretch of country, which will carry a large population. During their travels they came across a man named Campbell, who had lived with the Maoris for a very long time, and had not seen a European for eight or ten years. Referring to the second death from blood poisoning by the sting of a bee, the the Auckland Star says that it is rather an alarming occurrence, coming so soon after the death of a strong active young man at the Bay of Islands from a similar cause. It is well known that at some seasons of the year New Zealand honey is poisonous because of the bees feeding upon the blossoms of a poisonous plant, and it would also seem as thoug!' the virulent principle also affected the bees and rendered the sting dangerous. A few days after the publication of the above particulars a gentleman informed the Star that several years ago a party of Natives on the coast, who had been eating freely ot honey, about this season, were seized with symptoms of poisoning, and some of them died. The Natives attributed the deleterious property of the honey to the flower of the waioriki, a poisonous shrub, glowing in swamps, which is in bloom about this time of year. Under the heading of "the honey harvest" a correspondent of the Waikato Times writes :— The honey returns so far are in some are in some coses very suecesful. That is where skill and attention are brought into requisition, in this important industry. The Messrs Karl, of Ohaupo, removed 100 hives to a new apiary. Three- quarters of an hour after the first box was put down the bees were returning with pollen for the young brood. The weather in the spring, though cold, was favorable for brooding, so that when the honey season commenced the swarms were strong. Though the honey season was a little late this month, December honey has been abundant. The result of the month's extracting at one of Messrs Karl's apiaries from December sth to December 26th, inclusive from 100 hives, is B,BBolbs. Thio is highly satisfactory. The best day's work was 2,2751b5, on December 26. The maohioe in use is one oi Branson and Foster's, 6 comb extractor, with an improved method attached invenby Mr C. Karl to give increased speed to the extractor, in which the original machine was deficient. From the above results of 831bs a box for about 25 days it is evident that Messrs Karl are thoroughly masters of their work.