The Bee Industry

Western Star, 30 January 1906, Page 4

The Bee Industry

AN EXPE&t’S .VIEWS

■I Mr Isaac .Hopkins, the Govcrnjment. ApicultUrist, who has hitiier--8t.0.. confined'. - his- ittention to the ; ;North;; -Island, and' is 'at present ..organising.. the industry iii, the S. Tsland, arrived 'in Invercargill on afternoon. • In , the; course of an interview .with a; News” representative, Mf iHopkius; stated'that the object of his ; visit'was to spy out the district £ s\ud give, advice- to bee-keepers and those about to enter 'the ; iiidust’fyj rAs he had nbt■been iff 'Southland previously,” he could- not say'whetlii ;er the district was adapted for ..tied keeping- but, - before returning. North ho would publicly announce ihW're•suits of his Duping; his i three week's*' stay, iii - Southjapef he intended’ to" visit- all the 'district centres and' examine, as many apiaries as possible. Those who particularly wished him to call at their places would do well to leave their addresses at the’ Invercargill, office of the Stock Department. Mr Hopkins then proceeded to answer the, following questions :

“ What are the best districts for bee-keeping ?” “ The best district of all is probably the Upper Waikato, but very, nearly as good are many, parts of Hawke’s Bay, particularly between Napier and Woodville. Some portions of Taranaki are also very suit affile on account of the large .'quantities of clover ; but the rain and the wind which often,prevail there prevent the bees, from working at their best. On the way down I stopped at Waihou- Downs, in South Canterbury. The district is eminently adapted for. bee-keeping on a large scale., Dairying, districts appear to lie tlic best for bee-keeping, on account of .the large area of clover usually laid, down for pasture, “Do you advocate the cultivation of special crops for bees “. Not unless those crops can be used .for other purposes also. It is very important to see that plants' cultivated" are those which yield honey abundantly. Most of our cultivated ..flowers'bear very little lion by; owing'.tb the artificial prpeess bf hybridisation by . which ‘..‘they have been produced. Nature’s;,use' for, honey is to"- attract "insects' - to the flowers to fertilise them, but in hybridisation the aid of the insects is dispensed with, and the honey in time ceases to abound. A typical, instance of this change is .given by the Hose. The wild rose of our hedges which has been naturally propagated by insects from generation to generation, secretes honey; abundantly. But the handsome roses pf our gardens bred by hybridising are quite devoid of honey. All the treloils are excellent honey plants, particularly lucerne, if it will flourish. White clover, however, is, perhaps the best flower on which to rely.”

" Is the industry a very profitable one?” “ There is a lot of money to be made from honey. The price is rising fast, probably on account of the increased price of butter, and ■ the use aubsti^

lute. Biit this applies only To_ cloy-'-cr 'honey.' The 'highest price’ was reached last year, when the supply was' hot nearly equal to the demand, and the wholesale price was 12s per dozen 21b tins. The average income from a well-kept apiary in a good clover district is 18s br 20s per hive per"annum. ’“.What are the prospects ?” T anticipate that the output in three "years’ time will be very large. The largest apiary in the colony, is owned by Mr Benz, of Maste'rtoh, ahd consists of 750 hives,'''Apiarists are last increasing in numbers, and those already in the industry are enlarging their apiaries under the encouragement afford eel by my appointment. At the present time ,600 tons of first-class table honey could be well disposed of on the local market annually. Very little honey, if any, is imported owing to the duty of 2d per lb,” put on in 1888 to block out American honey, which was largely adulterated with glucose—a starchy sugar. I. do not recommend an 4 Increased,./pit put of inferior honey at present, a§ the, demand for that is limited. Biscuit-makers, however, may in, time, make use of it extensively. .When Huntley and PalmiSr begqg making “ honey drop ” bis-' cults, 20 years ago they started with ityvo tons of honey per week, and soon increased it to treble that amount.

“ Is.;the, cost of stocking, etc., e.xpcnfhve ?” , . “ It hi, mq| possible, at, any pripe a.B.djhQsetvt,. to. .purchase srifTicgciit ..sCptjk, for a.large,apiary.. That is*a question ~tjiat. .needs to be dealt’, ‘..with, .for the'.-demand for bees is' ..'.tremendous, JE have been frequently ask'ed : if the ‘ Government woulll Lake tip the breeding work, but cannot ’ jiist now say what will be demed We are carrying out experiments'oll the Government Experimental Farm at Ruakura, where we have established our first State apiary. We have appointed a lady apiarist there, which is itself an .important experiment, to show that there is a new means of livelihood for farmers’ wives and daughters.’’ In conclusion Air Hopkins, who is a ■ veteran .bee-keeper and a recognised authority on Apiculture, stat ed that he had been invited to visit several apiaries owned by local residents to-day and give practical demonstrations in the handling, of bees, and examine into the condition of the hives.

BEE-KEEPING. Mr Isaac Hopkins, Government Apiarist, accompanied by some lo : cal amateur enthusiasts, made a pleasant little tour ol inspection to Waikiwi yesterday afternoon. Air Toshach was first visited and here the . party was enabled to see a -master at work. Mr Hopkins handles bees as only a veteran can and the amateurs enjoj'ed his skilful manipulation of a couple of hives. That hateful disease, foul brood, was discovered in one of .the hives, and, detailed instructions ’for, itjsj.treatment were given by Mr-; *|^^hs advice also : piirpartcyl as, to the arrangement, of Proceeding to Mr Pritchard's farm,,.the party found a -bee, keeper well, advanced in the 'art. Mr, Pritchard: lias a score of •strong, colonies, and little fault can 'be; picked with his arrangements. A' cpldji.y, of j ltalian bees was an ob ject ‘of- interest to the beginners. Thcltalians are of gentle disposition. It is a pleasure to work among them, and they have the furth-' cr advantage of being “ grafters.” They will store 50 per cent, more honey in a season than , the ordinary black bee. During the afternoon' the proposed legislation in connection with bee-keeping was discussed; "and; the stringent provisions of the bill were approved. Under this mea sure every man who owns bees, whether domiciled in a patent hive or in an old drain tile, will be deemed an apiarist. He will have to keep his bees in a hive with movable frames, and he will have to keep, them free from disease, or an Inspector will put a torch to the ‘lot. This seems -fairly stiff, but if the industry is to be built up, the man who puts , time and care and money into the business must be protected from the antiquated ami 'stiqnd. individual who keeps a'' soliftary §w.arm ,of .bees in an old kerosene'box. In .nine cases out of ten, •the. csmb, im these-old box hives Jure,, rotten.. with foul'brood, and that is, a disease which can be spread.thro.ugh hundreds of hives in a few days. Mr Hopkins particularly wants to meet men who cling to the .old, methods, and he is specially hoton the track of the individual who “ argues ” the advantages of the, pre-historic box hive. Those who keep bees should get into communication with Mr Hopkins at, ,once, as they will find that his kindly advice will help them a long wav forward.