BEE FARMING IN POVERTY BAY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10925, 14 November 1913, Page 2

BEE FARMING IN POVERTY BAY.

1878-1913. (By G. STEVENSON). My first acquaintance with bee farming was made in 1878, when, on arriving at Gisborne, I was surprised' to find* A largo apiaiy of 500 or 6CO hives ail lloseland Gardens a few miles from town, and probably the first commercial apiary established in New Zealand, lb was owned by John and

Thomas U'Ren, both of whom have now joined the majority. At that time tho frame hive had not reached New Zealand, and the hive in use was much smaller than tho Langstroth, and consisted of two boxes, provided with slots, from which the oombs were built, the honey being cut out of the upper box and strained. By this method, considerable quantities of beeswax were also obtained. My own start in the industry was mad'a at Ormond, in 1884, with fifty box hives, bought at 5s a hive. These I transferred to Langstroth hives, of which I had purchesed 100. The season was a poor one, and what honey I got was gathered chiefly from a flourishing flax swamp near by. I ran the honey into kegs, and shipped it to London, with the result that I received a debit no to for Is 6d, which, J regret to say, I still owe. Next spring I removed to a better site at Waiohika, and there I have remained ever since. My next essay on the Home market was more successful, a ton I sent to Edinburgh yielding £43 net, which' was very ! satisfactory. At that time comb honey was much in demand, and for a year or two I received excellent prices for lib sections, 10d' and even Is in Wellington. Gradually the price got lower, and when only 6d could bo got I gave up the trade, ospecially as extracted . honey was beginning to fetch higher prices/ and I am much indebted to Messrs Moritzson and Co., of Dunedin, for the salo of many a ton of my honey at a price of 4-Jd aiid 5d a lb. About 1890 a stir in the honey business was made in Auckland. A Beekeepers' Association was formed, with a paid secretary, a quantity of boo literature was printed and circulated' among the members, and consignments sent to the secretary for sale. An excellent bee journal was also published by Mr Hopkins. But, somehow, the Association did not last long, whether from dissatisfaction or other reasons: Anyhow, the Association became defunct after a year or two.

Up to the year 18S6 or 1887, foul brood was unknown in Poverty Bay, when it appeared in the most virulent form. The Roseland Apiary, then leased to Mr Knight, was first attacked. Being quite ignorant how to treat the disease, he threw the rotten combs into a heap in the yard, thereby spreading the contagion, till the whole apiary of 600 hives was wiped out of existence. The same fate bel'el another large apiary of box hives owned by Mr I. Hammond, near Orniond. Though situated between the two my own apiary remained clean until the following spring, when, on opening the hives, I found the brood in the centre combs affected. These I removed and destroyed, and had a good crop of honey that season: but in the following spring nearly all the hives were affected, and many had 6uccumbed. Meantime, I had written to Mr M'Evoy, the American inspector, whose method of getting rid of the trouble I had. read of, and received a long a-nd very courteous letter in reply, giving me full directions how _to proceed, which I forthwith carried out. It was ft tedious job, but proved efficacious. Since then I hav« been careful never to harbour a single case of foul brood in my hives; but I am eorry to say that notwithstanding Government inspection, there are many hives in the district affected, though the disoase has never again assumed the virulent form of its first appearance. One notable feature of the outbreak was the effect of running water in checking the spread of contagion. A large apiary of box hives at To Arai, owned by Mr T. U'Ren, and situated on the other side of the Waiapoa River, entirely escaped, and it was by purchasing bees from him that I re-stocked my apiary. Up to rccernt jears I had a number of excellent customers among the leading grocers in Napier, "Wellington, and Auckland. Almost all of the°o I have now lost as they get their supplies of honey from local bee-keepers. The Gisborne trade also, which for many years I had in my own hands, is now so cat into by new bee-keepers as to be worth very little, while the London market is i very much in favour of tho buyers. As this must bo the experience of many other bee-keepers besides myself, it is time something was done to place tho industry on a better footing, and I look hopefully on tho efforts of this Conference to tho attainment of that end. I may add that I havo been a very successful exhibitor of honey, having received a silver medal for my exhibit at tho New Zealand Industrial' Exhibition of 1885, with a request to exhibit at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of ISBG, which I did, and also paid a visit to the Old Country and the Exhibition. A very fine exhibit of extracted honey was shown by a AVaikato firm. The honey was not so white in colour as our 11.8. honey then was, but I was told it was the class of honey best liked at Home. I also attended a splendid show' of honey at the Crystal Palace, where I saw honoy of every ehade of colour, from water-whito to nearly black. I was also introduced to-several of the leading English apiarists, and visited a largo fruit and bee farm in tho south of England. Ifc struck me however, that wo had not much to loaru from En; liidi beekeeping. ~,.. Later on, I exhibited at tho Mei-

bourne Exhibiton of 18S8 and the Dunodin Exhibition of ISS9O, and gained first awards from both.