The Matamata Apiary.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1784, 11 December 1883, Page 4

The Matamata Apiary.

The following is Mr Hopkins rep irfc : - Our bjes are in g>> id condition —thank-* to the supply of food they h.ivu hid— .uu\ nil rc.idy to take advantage «»f the tiist chance to g.ith"i a. cop of honey. A-> yet they have scaicoly gat'ioied enough to maintain themselves, and wo ha,\o given thoin spate fi ame-. of honey left o\ or fiom List season. On looking thiough om notes wo find tli.it on the (ifcli of Oetobji sevei.il of oui colonies (Italian^) weie picpaimg to swarm, and h id (juuun cells wpII advanced ; the»»e we intended to s\\ .11 in aititicially on the follow iii 1^ day, but \ory b.id weathei het in, and wo who unable to examine them atfain until the 10th, w hen we found that they li.id du-tioyed the cells, and the old queen-* ueie still in eh.ugi*. With tlu outlook at that tinu of e\ ci y tinny being very backwaid, we concluded not to attempt any artificial .swarming till we saw the lioney season had fan ly set in and the bees swaiming naturally ; this has not yet come about. Up to the tune of wilting we only had tlnco natuial swamis, and these we'ha\ebeen obliged to feed. We hope, however, for bjtt'ji things this month. Wo ha\« just ieeei\ed an Italian queen thiit fii^t suv the light, .uul N\as feitili/ed in Italy. Sheisd.ukei than many of oui own bleeding, .11 id \eiy small, but 110 doulit her sj/.e is .ittiibut.ible to hei long tonlmement and tough iisaue, which would letard the development of I'ggs in hei o\anes. The bees that accon'i».iny hei ,110 in all lespects to those we h.ui; hied fiom the <iueens im]>oited fiom -Vmeiica. (lieat difYeieiice of opinion exists .is to the appealanee of ])ine Italian l)oe->, andweaie \ery glad to ha\e had the oppoitunity of com ]).iring those of oui own bleeding with beei f 10111 a queen unpoitcd diuct funn It.ilv, andweaie pleaded to that our own does not Milter by the coinpaiison. We, expect hhoitly «i small tu.il consignment dnpct fiom Italy. Wo had liupoited ])ioMou-,ly twenty-two colonies fiom Amciica.

It is announced that a piocc&s has been diseoveied for taking pliotosrinphb in natural coloui-, the colour-. lieni^ pioduccd by the artion of t!io light alone in the camcia, sind owing nothing to the pencil of the aiti-,t. In photoginphs taking the coloming was quite tine to nature, and the delicate tonei and shades wcie clear to tlio \ lew . TiikLovdov Poun . — A concspondent of the Aigus .5113.S :— Tin- hupcnntciulciits of the London police ha\ c come to the conclusion that tor the piovjut at least levolveis .should not bo iwied to the police, even 111 dangmoiKs nrighboui hoods. It naturally ocelli's to one that this le&tiietion lias been passed l>y a body of men who, howevor responsible, aie not themeelve stationed at night in dangerous neighbourhoods. The police are to lnu c whistles instead of levolveis. They used to have rattles, but thete, it seems, have failed to amuse. The whistles are, however, to be " poucrtul," ami being fixed nt the end ot the tmncheons "materially increase their weight." It otrikes me that if I had to contend against a gentleman with aievolver, I should use my breath for other purposes — such as running away, for instance — than whistling. I leally do think that the possibi lity of a io\ol\ or in a. policeman's hands being " used raslily sliould not be allowed to uciuh against the piobability of the rashness bemir on the other side. Moreover, when the burglar has shot his Men he has still the philanthropists behind him with then plea of madness. Upon the whole "a policeman's lot is not a happy one." Tilh following infoi niation is taken from the financial Reform Almanac for ISB3 : — There aie at piescnt in the British Hou^e of Commons (>3O members, of whom 272 aie connected with the peeiagc. Only two aie laboreis. one a mariner, and one a miner. One bundled and s>i\ty-eighfc members arc connected with the fighting interests, 207 with l'incled inteiests, 122 with law, 18 with liquor, 25 with money, S4 with literary, professional, and scientific inteiests, 113 with oHicial, and 133 with laihvay interests, 153 with trade, comineice, and manufactureis. What royalty costs Britain may be learned from the following figures : The total payments on ac count of the Queen aie £(522,133 per year ; then the Piinecss gets £8,040, the Prince >f Wales £117,745, the Duke of Edinburgh £20, 5i)G, Princess Christian £0,000, Princess Loni&e 10,000, her husband gets £10,000 as (joseinor-Oeneral of Canada, the Dukr: of Connaught gets £20,300, Piince Leopold £2G,300, Duchess of Cambridge £0,000, Duchess of Mecklenburg .Sticlitz. £3,080 the Duke of Cambridge C22.2C3, Punce«sof Teck £500, Piiiic IDdwaid of Saxe- Weimar £3,337, Duke of Cumberland £300, Pi ince Leiningen £ 1 ,400. Couut Glcichen £1,860; the pen&ioncis of deceased soverings get £0,475 ;in all, £898,302. Then there ia£U2,(>o7 spent on loyal parks and pleasure grounds, besides the free use ot uumcrousj palaces. Oxb Siin-UM:.— Francis .T. Shortts' Popular Art Union. — len first-tl.ibs Oil Painting's by eclebrdted artists .1000 tickets .it U. The pri/.cs arc niiignilircnt .md tostly. Country subscribers sending 1 st.mips or otherwise will hiivc tickets by return post. Enclose stamper] envelope for reply. — Kkancis J. IShouti, WO, Queen-street, Aurklanrl.— fAuvi.] I/IFK IN THKBu.SH— TIfKX AND NOW.— It is generally supposed tli.tt in the bush we have to put up with many discomforts and pmations in the shape of food Formerly it was so, but now, thanks to T. B. Hrrr, who has himself dwelt in the bush, if food does consist chiefly of tinned mouts his Cot omal S^uck fiives to them a. most delectable flavour, making them as wall of the plainest food most enjoyable, and instead as hard biscuits and indigestible damper his I\rprovbi> Colonial Haking Powdijk makes the very best bread, scones, cakes, and pastry far superior and more wholesome than yeast or leaven; Sold by all storekeepers who can obtain it from any merchant in Auckland. Rats axd Mice.— If you wish to de*troy them get a packet of Hili.'sMagic Vim mi n Killkk in packets, Cd, 9d, and Is, to be obtained tfallltorekcepers, or from T, Is, Hiu by, on' casing an pxtra itamp,