THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3112, 5 November 1913, Page 12

THE APIARY.

(By J. A.)

COMMERCIAL BEEKEEPING. HONEY AND THE HONEY-FLOW. Honey may fairly be described as factured article. It 19 . no *', stored nectar of the flowers gathered and stored and then evaporated. Experts tell us that ,an addition is made to it from the glanas of the bees—an addition which changes it so much as to be equal to partial digestion, and that it is really entitled to bo called a predigested food. It is this change which gives honey its greatest value Mcdi cnl testimony is to the effect that it is this change which makes' it, as compar with cane sugar so much more easily digested. The colour and flavour of honey aro distinctive properties given to it by the flowers from which it is gathered. Some flowers yield honey that is water-white, others yield honey that is as dark as the darkest molasses, and between these extremes there are nearly as many varying shades as there are flowers Ihe same variation occurs as far as flavour 16 concerned. The standard for flavour and colour in New Zealand is largely that of the honey which is water-white and finely flavoured, and gathered from white clover; but while this is so, there are many other honeys that are very finely flavoured, both light* and dark. The consistency of honey is to a largo extent a property also derived from the plant, but not altogether so. lo some extent it is a matter of evaporation and ripening. Some honeys extract quite easily, even when fully sealed over; others can hardly be extracted at all, and yet either of those honeys will grow thicker in 'consistency and heavier in body and finer m flavour by being kept longer in the hive. From this it may be said that but little is left for the beekeeper to do in as tar ns the production of his honey is concerned: that, in fact, when he chooses the locality and site of his apiary he virtually fixes the quality of his produce, as that is so much dependent on the flora within the area chosen. In the main true is. true; and vet a good deal can still be done. In every location there is a regular succession of honey-yielding plants, and, of course, a considerable amount of overlapping, so that different qualities of honey aro sometimes being stored in the combs simultaneously. As a result of this a really finely-flavoured honey may sometimes be considerably depreciated by the addition of that of poorer quality. If the beekeeper is observant, he can make the extractor the means of keeping these honeys apart, and as a result prevent the depreciation of perhaps tons of a superior article by the addition of hundredweights of an inferior article. Much mere, however, can be done by the beekeeper in the matter of preparation, for what experience teaches him is likely to bo his principal honey-flow, by getting his colonies into that condition that they will make the largest use of the honey-flow. To do this is really the tost of his ability as a beekeeper. While honey-gathering goes on for perhaps fully six months of the year, ae the weather gives opportunity, the real honey-flow will last ordinarily not. longer than from two to three weeks, and that is the time for which the preparation must bo made. If the time for this honey-flow could be relied on, and if it did not vary, ’t would be much easier for the beekeeper. That fact that it may, owing to weather conditions, vary so much as a month or five weeks, adds considerably to the difficulty. His work, then, is to get. the greatest possible population in the hives, and to hold it there until the main flow is over. The bane of success is, of course, the tendency to swarm, to scatter, just at the iimo dial uiuon is most uvoneu. ooinctiiues a mania for swarming will quite demoralise an apiary, and ruin altogether the chances of a good crop of honey. The effective colony is one with a largo population, a good queen, with plenty of brood room, ample room for storing honey, and good ventilation. Should such a colony swarm at the beginning of the honey-flow, then the old colony may be reckoned as out of the running. Its working population

has gone with the queen, . an< f the beekeeper’s hope then centres in the swarm. For effective work the swarm is good at first, but day for at least three weeks its effectiveness ; s growing less. No young bees arc hatching, and the old ones are dropping out. It can, of course, be readily understood that if the swarm could be backed up by the young bees hatching in the old colony, it would dp much better work. To close this talk in a sentence, the bees, not the beekeeper, are the manufacturers of : the honey. The beekeeper can help in the matter of ripeness by giving time in the hives; in the matter of quality, by extracting when inferior honevs are beginning to come in; and in the matter of quantity, by making and keeping ms colonies efficient.

TRAINING APIARISTS. The opportunity afforded at the apiary of the Ruakura Farm of Instruction for going through a season’s course of practical beekeeping is still being taken advantage of. It speaks well for the high estimation in which oux* system of cornmcrcial bee-culture in New Zealand is held in other countries that in four instances young ladies have borne the expense and inconvenience of coming purposely to the Ruakura State Farm from distant lands to learn the business. In one case a young lady came from England, and returned after taking a season’s course. In another case a lady came specially from Victoria, and quite recently two young ladies arrived from Australia —one from Victoria and the other from New South Wales. The latter are now located at Ruakux'a, whex’e they remain as cadets until the end of next April. By this time they should be so well grounded in the art of bee-culture as to enable them to start intelligently on their own account. It is their intention to settle in New Zealand and tv take up bee-farmmg as a business. In all there have been about 30 young women and several young _ men trained at this apiary, and all with whom the department is in touch arc doing well with their bees.—Journal of Agriculture. REMOVAL OF APIARY. (E. A. Earp.) A removal of more than ordinary interest to beekeepers took place last month, when 125 colonies of Italian bees belonging to Mr H, Brickcll were railed from Owhiro, Otago, to Tcmuka. South Canterbury, a distance of 154 miles. To avoid loss in transit the covers were removed and battens tacked on to take their place, and the bottom of each hive was covered with wire gauze. The bees were five days on the journey owing to the slips on the railway, but as a result of good packing by the owner the apiary was removed without a single loss. It is Mr Brickell’s intention to engage in beekeeping on an extensive scale,' and the apiary referred to above will form the nucleus of one of 500 colonics. The extended operations are due to the fact that the department is giving the beekeeper more protection, and is enforcing the Act with a view to checking the spread of foulbrood—a state of affairs which was not possible before came into force. —Journal of Agricultm-e. N