THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3510, 21 June 1921, Page 9

THE APIARY.

By

J. A.

At the time of writing (June 11th) no news of the conference has been reported in Nelson, except a small paragraph telegraphed from Auckland to the effect that, Mr F. TV. Kirk had been chosen president for the ensuing year. Such an appointment, we think, will be a very popular one with the beekeepers, as Mr Kirk has in the past .done yeoman service for cur industry. The branch reports in the June journal seem to indicate ail almost unanimous feeling against the apiary registration fee, or, as it is generally called, apiary tax. We think that probably the branches as well as the editor of the journal have for the time lost sight of the main object of this fee, which was really to get a better registration and to cut out if possible the “don’t care’’ beekeeper, who is a menace to his neighbour. The idea that this tax was an attempt to raise a substantial part of the cost of administration of the Apiaries Department, is altogether wrong. It was shown by the way the department ’Handled this proposal that their conception of it was not in line with that of the promoter in this, that they proposed io let the “don't care” man off, and come down heavy on lie commercial man. Under the circumstances the attitude of the branches is not to be wondered at. We will wait- with interest to hear how the conference has dealt with it, but feel sure that unless some champion with a wider view than that of the beekeepers’ journal that the proposal will have been ruled out. Another feature of the branch letters is the universal pleading for more work against tho bee-keepers’ enemy—foul brood. War conditions during past years and financial si ringeucy at tho present time have probably more than anything else hindered the development of the apiary staff. A chief apiarist has not been appointed, and the instructors srilJ cover too much ground to make the effort anything more than spasmodic. We still believe that the policy we stated 12 months ago, that of a systematic clean up, taking the Dominion in sections and concentrating effort, is the policy that should be adopted. In this connection, also, we wait with much interest for our conference report. —Moving Bees for Fire Blight. Professor Foster, a leading United States entomologist, gave a talk to the local orchardists at Tasman on Tuesday evening last. After discussing United States methods of control of most of tho orchard pest-3 he dealt with the fire blight question; for this he says there is no known remedy, but the surgeon’s knife —cut ling out tile deceased parts and carefully disposing of them in a furnace and disinfecting every contact. One statement made is rather startling from a beekeeper's point of view. It was made in connection with the sources of infection. Infection is most probably in the bloom period, and is mostly carried by insects, arid in this respect the honeybee is a principal offender. In the pear districts of California, bees were entirely banished from tho pear districts during tho bloom period. The professor, after an 18 years’ experience of firo blight, considers that we have not a hope of confining it to Auckland, and if it is going to be a

Dominion wide sr-ourge, and the fruit districts adopt this altitude towards bees, then beetgpepers are going to have to face difficulties'’from unexpected quarters. In California in the pear regions a man is employed at high salary on each 50 acres to keep continuous watch for fire blight infection. So deadly is it, that a few hours rNart may mean serious trouble. Professor Foster is of the same opinion as Dr Tillyv.rd that ha-wthorn hedges must be cleared out root and branch, to put it in It is own quaint way. He says in California they would not, be tolerated over Sunday.