THE APIARY.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XVIII, Issue 5, 20 May 1919, Page 304

THE APIARY.

By

G. V. WESTBROOKE,

Apiary Instructor.

In these days of organization and co-operation the worry of trying to sell the honey no longer occupies the attention of beekeepers, and they are thus able to devote their whole attention to production. This is as it should be, and leaves a little more time to devote to the offseason work of attending to the repairing of hives and covers, repainting, and generally to make plans for the coming season. If circumstances permit, they will be enabled to enjoy a well-earned vacation, knowing that the bees have been left in good condition, with a plentiful supply of stores, and so will be all right to leave for a few weeks. It may be well to remind those beekeepers who feel they have earned this rest that the annual conference of New Zealand beekeepers will be held at Wellington on the nth, 12th, and 13th June. The

gathering, will be held this year in the Dominion Farmers' Institute building. Important matters relating to the improvement of the industry will be discussed, and all apiarists and keepers of bees are cordially invited to attend by the National Beekeepers' Association.

TREATING WAX IN SMALL QUANTITIES

There is very little work to be done among the bees during the next two months. In fact, if previous instructions have been carried out there should be no necessity to open the hives for some time. ' The present month, .however, is a good time to melt ' up any wax. The best method of doing this has- several times been fully described in past issues of the Journal. These methods,- however, apply more particularly to the larger beekeeper who possesses a wax-press. It may be of some use to explain a simple method of securing the wax from small quantities of combs, for those who have but one or two hives, as follows : Take the. combs, after straining out the honey, and place them in a scrim bag ; then’put this into a large copper nearly filled with water, placing a few weights on . top so as to keep all the scrim below the surface of the water. Bring the water to the boil, and leave it until cold. The wax can then be lifted off in a cake and remelted in a smaller vessel, so as to. make it more compact; ■ or, if preferred, the hot wax may be skimmed off into another receptacle and then allowed to cool. The best method of cleaning the copper after this operation is to empty it first, place a few pieces of paper or shavings . in the fireplacesufficient to heat up the metal without burning —and then with a damp cloth wipe out the particles of wax, which will have melted.

NEXT SEASON’S PLANS.

Beekeepers would be well advised to make all their preparations for next season as early as possible. Do not wait until the spring before making up your mind, what your plan of campaign will be. Settle the question now as to whether you intend to increase your colonies or run the apiary for honey only, and plan out all details. By so doing, you will have a definite object in view, and this will be going a long way towards success. ‘ ■