THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3244, 17 May 1916, Page 8

THE APIARY.

By J. A A BEEKEEPER'S DIARY. (Continued.) May 3 to 9. —The writer had hoped to bring this diary to a close this week with a description ot honey-cutting and packing, and the closing up of the apiary for winter. Ho has not, however, been successful. The handling of heavy moulds of honey, together with one half-day's work weighing up the hives, produced a strained back that been the catise of delay in these operations. I must, however, close up the diary, as room in this column is required for other things. The honey-cutting work has been slow. The mild weather has prevented a sufficiently hard granulation of the honey, and all the later-extracted boxes are too soft. A week of frosty weather would make them all right. The half-day I spent weighing up the colonies for winter showed that they are in fine condition —much heavier than last year. When the work is completed 1 shall give more' particulars. And now, in closing up my diary of what has been a record season for the south, I wish to thank my readers and the editor that they have been patient with me. and allowed me to follow my own bent without complaint. My impression was that that way of writing, though personal, would appeal to beginners more than the usual descriptive notes. In the nature of things "t must be limited to the active bee season. The next six months will be quiet in the apiary. Nothing worth recording will_ be done, and that is one of the good points about beekeeping: it is entirely summer work. Dairying is spoiled by the slushy work of feeding in winter. In beekeeping it is a period of entire rest. In a future article on "Beekeeping as an Industry" I shall refer to the results obtained from my apiary this season. Meantime I close with expressing a wish that next year may bo good for not only Southland, but Can terburv and Otago as well. SOUTHLAND BEEKEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. I have just received notice that the annual meeting of this association is to bo

held 5n Invercargill on the 17th inst.— that is, one of the Invercargill Show Days. I did not expect when at the field-day meeting in January that I would still be n ■Southland and have the privilege of attending this meeting. However, I am looking forward to being present and greeting the old friends again, and I hope we will have a good mooting. That is not, however, what was in my mind to write under this heading. It is rather to urge on all our Southland beekeepers the importance of supporting the association. The local associations are in reality all branches of the " National," and membership in one means' membership in both. It should not be necessary to have to urge on our beekeepers the value of organisation. The history of the "National" through the last three or four Years speaks for itself, and yet, strange to say, there arc many beekeepers who will not tako the trouble to strengthen the association by becoming members and keeping themselves financial There is a tendency amongst beekeepers to be content with their own surroundings, and never see over their own fence except when they have to go to market. Ihe wonderful thing is tliat these same beekeepers are quite prepared to take advantage of the good market that the '-National Las had such a prominent part in securing for them. It pays—it pays every time—to be an association member • so come along, please, and give Mr Gardiner, our worthy secretary, the pieasuro of enrolling you.