THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3014, 20 December 1911, Page 12

THE APIARY.

By J. A. __

Last weok, though better than the previous, was still too cold and blustery tor bees to fly; consequently the bees were still dependent on food given. With the exception of feeding, wo are doing nothing in the apiary. Breeding is going on very slowly. We have had to put out a good many eiipers merely to prevent crush of the bee.;, otherwise we should have compelled them to swarm As it is, we are getting an occasional swarm. A quick change now to warmth and sunshine* would make things hunt The supers would require to go on at once on all forward colonies. Just now, while we are waiting on the weather, it should be a good time to hurry forward every preparation necessary for the harvest when it comes, and there is much that could be done. Speaking for ourselves, however, we find it difficult to do this. Tho incentive is not there. We like to work within sound of the hum of baes on the wing; to feel that if we do not look sharp th© bees will be up with us and waiting. We prefer to work aw&j' from the apiary altogether iust now, finding something elsm to do. Theoretically this is wrong Our faith in the coming sunshine and harvest ought to bo sufficient to leep us working Well, we have faith, but, all the same, wo at present like to work at something else. DO WE USE ENOUGH HONEY? From time to time Gleanings gives pictures of family groups noted for their free use of honey as an article of diet. We suppose that the idea is to show that health and honey go largely together. In the November 'number we have a somewhat different picture. It is of " Grandma" Wil6on, mother-in-law of Dr C. C. Miller, a name familiar to all beekeepers who read bee literature. The old hfdy is 93 and remarkably fresh and hale, she looks. Here is her bill of fare as given by the doctor: Breakfast, a dish of oatmeal and creamno sugar, then plump 2oz of honey in half a bowl of hot water. Dinner—Ripe fruit as orange, apple, pear, etc., then a very moderate amount of the same dinner the fanily has; a glass of milk and cream, bread and butter and honey, and a cup of hot water. Rarely does she taste cake or pastry. Supper—A very light meal, generally bread and butter and honey, with a glass cf milk. The doctor says: —"Just how much her remarkably good health is owing to the honey she eats, how much to to abstemious diet, and how much to a rugged Scotch constitution, it would be hard to say. Serenity of mind is no doubt another factor, and conversely her regime is conducive to serenity of mind. Her memory is a wonder. She has a complexion and a frceness from wrinkles that many a woman of 50 might envy, with a disposition that would fit an angel. But then she ie better than an angel—she is a sa,frit, and I have no doubt that some of the credit for it is due to the honey she eats." When we remind our readers that it is of his mother-in-law that the doctor speaks those honeyed words, it should surely make- them, mark down a tin of honey on their grocer's list. HONEY IN BLOCKS FOR THE LONDON MARKET. Underneath we ..give a report. sent to the Southland Beekeepers' Association by the Agricultural Department and by them received fro.n the High Commissioner. It seems to us that this report is final so far as placing honey thus packed on the ~London market is concerned. The two enemies that the system has to contend against are, first, prejudice and, in the second place,' too high a temperature. If honey thus packed is retailed in soft condition, it is bound to be a failure. It is a winter package, and if kept at a temperature not exceeding 55deg it will keep beautifully hard and crisp. Memorandum for the High Commissioner. HONEY SHIPMENTS. For some time shipments of honely packed in solid lib and 21b blocks and wrapped in parchment paper have been made from New Zealand on a email scale. These shipments have evidently been made more for experimental than for actual commercial purposes, the object, of course, being to ascertain whether a better price could be obtained by this method than by shipping in bulk. The fact that such shipments have been repeated, however, causes m© to believe that the shippers, although receiving unfavourable reports from the agents who handle their consignments, are of opinion that there must be a market here for honey made up in this maimer if only it can be got into the right channels. I have seen several of these shipments, and in no case have I heard them favour-' ably commented upon. I have, however, never reported on them, as I was aware that the agents in whose hands the honey had b*.en placed had always dealt fully with the matter.

A small consignment coining direct to yorrself lor test end report, however, gives me an opportunity of dealing with the subject. lam of opinion that a report on this special lot may be of genera! interest to producers of honey in the Dominion. The consignment sent to you arrived in the s.s. Turakina. ■ It consisted of one Etronsr case containing 42 21b packets of honey. The honey was solidified, and each 21b was formed into an oblong block, which was carefully wrapped in white parchment paper and enclosed in a cardboard box. These wore tightly and neatly closed. The name and address of the apiary, with directions for opening, etc., were tastefully printed on each packet. The whole get-up was neat.

On examining the packets it was discovered that about ore-third of them were more or less damaged by leakage, the majority of these, however, being only slightly stained. - Still, they were unsightly for retail sale. In accordance with your instructions, I distributed the packets amongst brokers, wholesale houses, retailors, and consumers, in order that as wide art opinion as possible concerning the honey, and especially the form of package, might be obtained. A letter' accompanied each package sent to the brokers, wholesale houses, and retailers, requesting the favour of an opinion on the following points: 1. Quality of the honey. 2. Suitability of the package for English wholesale ma.rkets. o. Suitability of the package for English retail trade. 4. Wholesale value of the honey packed in this manner. 6. Retail value of the honey packed in *his manner.

6. Wholesale value of similar quality honey packed in 561 b tins. The consumers we/r© asked for their opinions on points 1 and 3. From the numerous replies received the opinion is unaimous that the quality of the honey was excellent. In one or two instaces exception is taken to the colour as being rather white for the London market, where a pale amber is preferred. In every instance the term of package is condemned as being quite unsuitable for the English market. The brokers and wholesale houses say that there is no sale for honey in this form, except at a very low price. The retailers say that the package world not suit their trade, as when taken from the cold chamber and exposed on the counter for sale in warm weather the honey would get soft and the packages would leak, becoming dirty and unsightly. They also say that as honey packed in this form is a proprietary article, the packages bearing, the apiarist's name on them, they would not care to handle them. The consumers say that to strip the paper from the honey when required for use is not easy, and that the process is messy as well as wasteful, a good deal of honey sticking to the paper. Altogether the opinion is against shipping honey from New Zealand in this form. There is, however, a good market for honey of similar quality if sent forward in bulk. The most convenient form, and that most acceptable to the trade here, is to pack in 561 b tins (similar to kerosene tins), and to ship these two in a case. Honey is usually retailed in glass jars or earthernware pots containing either lib or 21b, and a neat label bearing the retailer's name and address is usually applied. Retailers do not believe in advertisng the name and addrees of the producers of goods they sell if they can possibly avoid doing so. The wholesale value of honey similar in quality to that now received is at present from 35s to 33s per cwt on the Londjoni market. Wholesale houses buying at this price resell to retailers, packed in lib or Ub glass jars, at about 7s per 121 b. It is difficult to give an estimate of the wholesale value of honey packed as that received, as there are no ready buyers for it. Possibly about 30s per cwt might be obtaired —certainly several shillings less than could be got for it if packed in bulk Would have to be accepted. (Signed) H. C. Cameron, Produce Commissioner.