HONEYED WORDS ABOUT THE BEE

Northern Advocate, 26 June 1937, Page 10 (Supplement)

HONEYED WORDS ABOUT THE BEE

AMBER GOLD PROSPECTS FOR NORTHLAND.

MOS rr of us have enjoyed • :kle at the old story of I c townswoman who called at a country house for a meal, and was proudly informed by her hostess*. “We have milk from our own cows, and our own honey, too.” upon which the guest replied, “Ob, T see yon keep your own bes?” But really how much do we knew about the most hard working and certainly the most useful of'all insects? You can be bored by bee, like Edmund Lear’s old man of Tralee; you can be stung by a bee; you can be fed byva bee, but you can also be ‘fascinated by bees. ' Honey was early discovered to be a potent ingredient of mead and other heady drinks. And . in many a copy-book the tidv, painstaking and laborious virtues of the bees have been lauded for the benefit of youthful sluggards. Bees were venerated 15,000 years ago. Scribbled carvings on cave walls and friezes" on now crumbling Egyptian temples paid tribute to them. Food for the Gods. The Greeks knew honey as the food of the gods. The Egyptians,

in hieroglyphs, linked them with the cows, and to them early Nirvana was a land “flowing with milk and honey.” The Assyrians anointed the thresholds of their sacred buildings with honey and wine. The Indians of the higher castes believed, and still believe, that a departed soul entered the body of a bee. Arab agriculturists and philosophers lauded the busy little insect as the epitome of the wise, the fruitful and the faithful.

An Old Rhyme,

An old rhyme, known all over England, reads:—

A swarm of bees in May, Is worth a cow and a half that day; A swarm of bees in June, Is worth a silver spoon; A swarm of bees in July Is not worth a butterfly.

We who receive our < honey in tin or labelled glass canisters con be humbled by the thought of this, energetic insect, which ha« been enshrined in the philosophy of the ancient contemplative peoples. But, even if you have never grown lyrical on mead or hydromel or tasted honey, you will enjoy delightful illustrations of the bee actually engaged in manufacturing his product at the honey court at the Whangarei Winter Exhibition. Insufficient for Northland’s Needs. It is a little known fact, and rathpr a reflection on our district, that Northland does not produce sufficient honey to supply its own needs. While other parts of New Zealand are exporting the amber which brings gold, we are actually importing some of our requirements. There are over 2,000 bee colonies * north of the Rodney County, each producing from half to three quarters of a ton annually. Mr. G. V. Westbrook, Government apiary instructor, and an expert in the business, believes that Northland produces some of the • best honey there is.

The tea-tree, so prevalent throughout the North, has a big bearing on our honey production, darkening the colour and making for a stronger flavour. However, the tea-tree is really an advantage, as it provides food for the hives in early spring, a period when very few plants and flowers are in blqom. This enables the bees to build up a strong foundation for their hives, and keeps them in good condition for the honey gathering from clover in December and January. / • Noted for Their Health.

In order to procure'the milder flavoured and more delicately coloured clover honey in a purer form, some beekeepers in s’the 5 ’the North make a practice of removing the store accumulated in the hives up to November. Northern bees are noted for their health, there being few foul broods and little disease, attributable largely to the favourable climate and plentiful food supply. Feed on Other Man. Bees are the most successful robbers in civilised commerce and, so far, there has been no legislation to curb their wandering habits. They live on the other man. For that reason it is only necessary to own a quarter of an acre of land to establish quite a successful bee colony, and one acre is quite an estate. Provide a bee. with a home, and he will roam within a radius of three miles collecting honey for his keeper and breaking all the laws of trespass in doing so. 5 Not a Tie. Unlike dairying and some other farming occupations, beekeeping is not an all-the-year-round tie. Most of the actual work in connection with the hives is compressed into the spring and summer, while, for the remaining six months of the year, the bee farmer can get his material ready for the busy season—but largely at his own convenience. Honey-growing is quite a profitable spare time occupation for some Northlanders. For such, the necessary time and attention cannot be given to more than 20 or 30 colonies, producing about a ton of honey, worth, at this year’s price, approximately £4O. The establishment cost of about 30/- per colony is high in the first year, but henceforward there are few outgoings. Authorities state that there is room in the North for 1,000 beekeepers, and that a ready local market is available for much more than the present output. Association Doing Good Work.

The North Auckland Beekeepers’ Association, formed

twelve months ago, has done splendid work in fostering the industry. The. membership of 20 is representative of the area from Oruru to Port Albert, and has been greatly helped to a more scientific approach to the subject by lectures and the dispersal of general information. The president is Mr. J. Reynolds, and the secretary, Mr. H. R, Hpldaway, both of Whangarei, who will assist Mr. G. A. Handcocks, Oruru, in arranging the court for the Winter Exhibition.

A full display of all apiary ap-

pliancees will be on view and there will be frequent demonstrations in a specially preparedcage of bees —-their work and j how to handle them. If possible j

a segregated queen bee, the hardest toiler of all, will be | secured. I This lady is capable of laying Ithree times her own weight in I

one day, and during the height of the season, two dozen working bees are kept employed doing nothing else but provide her with food.