APIARY NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, 14 March 1935, Page 16

APIARY NOTES

BEEKEEPERS’ WORK IN MARCH. PREPARATIONS FOR WINTER. (By D. S. Robinson, Department of Agriculture.) The extracting combs should now all be cleaned up, and this can be accomplished by tiering them up on strong hives, having the entrances well contracted, the beekeeper taking particular care that all the supers sit exactly one on top of the other, without any bee spaces between, also that there is no honey daubed on the outside to set up robbing. These supers should be placed on the hives just about sundown, and by the next evening the combs will be cleaned dry and can be replaced with others until all are finished. Care must be taken to ascertain that no disease is present in the apiary from which the combs have been taken, otherwise by giving the combs back to the bees to clean up there is every likelihood of spreading the disease to the hives to which the combs are given. See to the hive covers, replacing any that are faulty; mats that have become hard and stiff with propolis should be replaced with new ones. These mats should be cut to fit neatly inside a super and not allowed to hang over. Any portion of the mat hanging outside of the roof is liable to soak up moisture and make the whole of the mat damp. The slaughter of the drones will indicate that the bees are preparing for winter; therefore the beekeeper should clear the growth around the hives, so that plenty of air can get round them; dampness is bad for wintering bees. Mats can be cut from sugar bags, clean sacks or such like material. See that a sufficient quantity of honey is left in the bives to provide food for the bees during the winter. No less than 401 b of honey should be left for the bees’ uses. • Before putting hives down for the winter a thorough examination should be made to see that no disease is present. Any diseased hives should be either' treated or burnt by fire. Any beekeeper in doubt regarding the presence of disease in his hives should send a small piece of the suspected comb to the nearest apiary instructor, who will examine and report on the comb received, and give information how to treat the disease if it is found in the specimen comb. THIS MONTH'S HONEY RECIPE. Honey cakes: Ingredients: 1:11b flour, 6 oz honey, Jib sugar, Jib shredded lemon peel, 1 teaspoon each of cinnamon and ginger, Jib butter, J teaspoon carbonate soda. Slowly melt together honey, sugar and butter; stir into mixture flour, soda, peel and spice. Mixture should be a firm dough when cool. Roll out, cut into biscuits and bake in a moderate oven.

Honey and nut sandwiches: Mix chopped nuts with just enough honey to act as a binder, and use as a filling for sandwiches.