Islands Industry

Beekeeping As An Islands Industry Part II—Honey Production, and How a Colony is Worked

By F. J. Morgan

WHEN contemplating taking up bee keeping. either as a hobby or com mercially, the novice is advised to purchase standard equipment. Experience has taught that certain sizes and types of hives and frames give best results.

Any handy-man can make his own beehives, but they must be constructed very accurately. As a guide, it would be advisable to purchase from the manu facturers one hive, properly fitted up. If more hives than one are purchased, they can be bought in the flat, ready for

up and nailing together, u Ti 10 x 1 ? rai T ies ’ w^ic h a re fitted inside, to hold the honeycomb, should always be purchased, as they need to be machined to correct size. Each frame has wires strung across it to hold the foundation on which the bees build their cells for honey storage.

Comb-foundation is bought in sheets, cut to fit standard frames, and has the imprint of the base of wax cells embossed on it on both sides. One sheet is attached to each frame by embedding the wires m the wax by means of an embedding tool.

When the hive is completed and the frames, filled with comb-foundation, are in position, the bees are introduced.

Packages of bees to form the nucleus of a colony may be sent by post.

Each package contains sufficient sugar candy to keep the bees alive on their journey.

The new colony is transferred from their postal packet, in the evening, by dumping them quickly on a piece of hes sian, which is spread over the ground, from the entrance to the hive. The box in which they travelled is removed at once and the bees begin to crawl into their new home.

The queen, who is usually purchased separately, must be introduced while still in her small postal cage, and left in it until the bees get to know her. If the queen is purchased with the nucleus, the procedure is simplified, and as soon as the queen enters the hive the rest will soon follow. In any case, a feeder, con taining sugar and water syrup, should be left inside the hive for a few days until the bees have settled down.

There should be plenty of drinking water close to the hives, otherwise the bees will haunt the household supply.

The colony should be sheltered from heavy winds and bad weather; but, if left in a shady place, the bees may become bad-tempered: they like sunshine. If the hives become over-heated, bees will be seen at the entrances fanning briskly with their wings. If this should be noticed, open up all entrances and give more ventilation. Keep the hives painted white for heat radiation, and do not paint them red, as the bees are colour-blind, and may get lost on their way home, IN handling bees, all that is needed for success is patience and gentleness, so that they do not get nervous and unsettled. A veil for the face and gloves, or gauntlets for the hands and arms, will give ample protection to the beginner; but, after a time, it may be found possible to do without either. A smoker is a handy little tool to have. A puff or two of smoke into the hive, or on the bees working on a comb, will cause them to rush to their honey store and begin gorging until, after a short time, they become quiet and easy to handle.

When one’s main object is honey pro duction, the nectar is left in the comb until every cell is sealed with a white capping by the bees. When every cell on the frame is sealed, the honey may be considered ripe. If taken out too soon, it will be unripe, and may ferment. But, when ripe, the frame is removed from the hive, using a smoker to quieten any bees on the frame, and a brush to brush them gently back into the hive, off the frame.

The caps are next cut off the cells with a hot knife, and the honey then extracted and run into a tinned receptacle for storage or packing.

THE usual method of marketing honey and bees-wax in Australia is to ship the product for sale, on consignment, to one of the firms engaged in the trade.

Honey is usually packed in 60 lb. tins, the same size as a kerosene tin, made especially for the purpose. The agents sell at current market rates, less the

usual commission. Some of the larger firms who are engaged in export trade blend the honeys they receive from dif ferent sources into a standard grade.

Because of the diversity of Australian flora, in widely separated districts, there is some variation in flavour and colour, so that great skill is exercised in main taining a standard blend.

Bees-wax is also shipped on consign ment to the same firms for sale at cur rent rates, less commission, which is very small. In Australia, apiarists have no set rule as to size and shape of blocks of wax. Highest prices are obtained by bee keepers who grade and pack their wax carefully. It is advisable to pour the wax into moulds of even size and, if possible, pack in sacks or hessian bags of about one cwt.

Next issue: Part lll.—How to Refine Bees-wax.

Mr. Rupert H. Lester, of the Fiji Dis trict Administration, was awarded the Diploma of Anthropology, Sydney Uni versity, a short time ago. The first section of a lengthy paper, “Kava Drinking in Viti Levu, Fiji”, which constituted part of Mr. Lester’s work for the diploma, is published in the December issue of the Australian National Research Council’s journal “Oceania”. Mr. Lester joined the Fiji Civil Service in 1928.

Mr. John Keenan, of Kieta, New Guinea, married Miss Phyllis Cover, of Summer Hill, on January 24, in Sydney.

Mr. J. D. Gray, formerly secretary of the NZ Department of External Affairs (which is responsible for the adminis tration of Western Samoa) and, later, officer in charge of the Cook Islands Department, died in Wellington in mid- January. He retired from the NZ Civil Service in 1927.