742 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



decided success, and the greatest 

 interest was manifested in the ex- 

 hibits by numerous visitors. In fact, 

 so attractive was the display on tlie 

 last occasion that the space allotted 

 was totally inadequate for the require- 

 ments, and your committee would 

 suggest to their successors, when 

 arranging for shows in the future, 

 the importance of securing ample 

 room for the ins])ection of the ex- 

 hibits. They would also suggest that 

 the instructive character of these 

 shows would be greatly increased by 

 having practical demonstrations of 

 tiie most important operations which 

 are absolutely necessary in an apiary. 

 In England, exhibitions of this kind 

 have become very popular, and each 

 association has its expert, who is 

 expected to visit the various shows 

 and teach the inexperienced how to 

 handle bees. 



Since the introduction of the mov- 

 able-comb hive, in 1S82, the progress 

 of apiculture in Soutli Australia has 

 loeen very rapid, and it is certain that 

 in the near future this pursuit is 

 destined to become an important in- 

 dustry. In this connection it is 

 interesting to read the report of the 

 judges of the bee-keepers' exhibits at 

 the last show of the Royal Agricul- 

 tural Society. Tliey say : " We have 

 been exceedingly pleased in inspect- 

 ing the exhibition of bees, honey, and 

 appliances, organized by the South 

 Australian Bee-Keepers' Association, 

 not only on account of its complete- 

 ness and general interest, but also 

 because of tlie evidence it clearly 

 presented that this important industry 

 is making rapid progress in the 

 colony." Two years ago the industry 

 was represented at a similar show in 

 the same building, by a single hive 

 and a few boxes of honey ; on this 

 occasion there was shown a most 

 complete series of appliances for the 

 rearing and management of bees, and 

 securing and marketing their pro- 

 ducts in a humane, easy, cheap, and 

 cleanly manner. 



iSot the least important sign of 

 progress is the readiness with which 

 local manufacturers have prepared 

 themselves to meet the demands 

 arising from the development of the 

 industiy. Nearly the whole of the 

 exhibits, from the neat section-boxes 

 to the ingenious and valuable honey 

 extractor, had been made in the 

 Colony, and many of them are, in our 

 opinion, equal to the imported articles. 

 "Itlnay not be inappropriate to draw 

 attention to the possible expansion of 

 this important industry in a country 

 so well adapted climatically to bee- 

 keeping. In America the magnitude 

 to which the industry has attained is 

 very remarkable. In 1K82 it was 

 estimated that there were 70,000 bee- 

 keepers in the United States, possess- 

 ing among them a total of 2,000,000 

 colonies, averaging 20 pounds of honey 

 each, which at a price of .'id. per 

 pound, represented a value of £800,- 

 000 sterling, besides 20,000,000 pounds 

 of wax, worth £1,200,000; or a total 

 for the year's crop of £2,000,000. 



South Australia, with its mild 

 climate and numerous honey-produc- 

 ing trees, is eminently suited for bee- 



culture, and it is therefore not sur- 

 prising that some large returns have 

 already been recorded. As tar as is 

 yet known, the common red and blue 

 gums are the best sources of honey, 

 and it is to these trees that Messrs. 

 Coleman & May, of Mount Baker, are 

 indebted for their bountiful harvest 

 of last season. They report as fol- 

 lows : " Number of colonies at the 

 beginning of the season, 27 ; present 

 number, 109— none were bought after 

 the season commenced. Comb honey 

 taken, 4,879 pounds; extracted honey. 

 9,413 pounds; total amount of honey, 

 14,292 pounds ; an average from each 

 of the original 27 colonies, 529 pounds. 

 The most extracted honey taken from 

 one hive was 414 pounds ; most comb 

 honey from one hive, 164 pounds. 

 This splendid average of over 500 

 pounds of honey per colony is cer- 

 tainly very satisfactory, and gives 

 cause for sfseculation as to the possi- 

 bilities which may yet be reached. 

 Your committee trust that the inex- 

 perienced will not be led astray with 

 the idea that any one can secure the 

 same results, and that in modern bee- 

 keeping there is no such thing as hard 

 work. 



Messrs. Coleman & May are not 

 only skillful and experienced api- 

 arists, but they have an aptitude for 

 the work which is not possessed by 

 all persons. Moreover, they are 

 situated in one of the most fertile 

 districts in the colony, and are sur- 

 rounded by a variety of beautiful 

 gum trees. They use the standard 

 Langstroth hive. 



Your committee feel that this report 

 would not be complete without a 

 notice of the introduction and estab- 

 lishment of Ligurian bees in South 

 Australia. The Hon. R. D. Ross, 

 who has always taken a deep interest 

 in bee-keeping, when speaking at the 

 annual meeting of the Chamber of 

 Manufacturers, on Aug. 2, 1883, urged 

 the advisability of introducing the 

 Ligurian bee, and pointed out the 

 advantages possessed by this superior 

 variety of the honey-bee. The Cham- 

 ber promptly took action in the 

 matter, and ordered a colony of these 

 bees from Queensland. They arrived 

 safely in Adelaide in the latter part of 

 November. Several pure colonies 

 were reared from this one, and two 

 of them were sent to Kangaroo 

 Island, where they .appear to thrive 

 well. Since then numerous importa- 

 tions of Ligurian bees have been 

 made chiefly from the neighboring 

 Colonies, but latterly bee-keepers 

 have wisely turned their attention to 

 getting the bees direct from Italy. 

 The thanks of bee-keepers are due to 

 Mr. Full wood, of Queensland, for his 

 energy and peiseverance in introduc- 

 ing and distributing Ligurian bees 

 throughout Australia. 



It may be interesting to briefly 

 notice the most important inventions 

 and discoveries that have been made 

 in apiculture during the year. Mr. 

 Frank Cheshire's investigations into 

 the nature of foul brood, which were 

 described by him in a paper read 

 before the British Bee- Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation at the Health Exhibition in 

 London, on July 25 and 2fi, 1884, have 



attracted the attention of bee-keepers 

 throughout the world. The paper is 

 of deep interest to apiarists in Aus- 

 tralia, because of the prevalence of 

 this terrible disease. 



At present the subject of reversible 

 frames is the principal topic of dis- 

 cussion in America, and it should be 

 a matter of consideration with mem- 

 bers when preparing for next season, 

 whether these frames are not worth a 

 trial. 



Great improvements have been i 

 made in the system of packing queen- \ 

 bees to go by mail, and these delicate 

 insects can now be sent on long voy- 

 ages without much risk. 



Your committee are aware of sev- 

 eral important matters which will 

 require earnest attention during next 

 year. Perhaps the most important of 

 all is that of finding a market for our J 

 honey, or rather improving the pres- | 

 ent one. 



In conclusion, the committee would 

 like to explain that the Association 

 are deeply indebted to the Chamber 

 of Manufacturers for their voluntary 

 assistance in many ways, especially 

 in giving the free use of their rooms 

 for meetings. 



The Chamber, in carrying out their 

 policy of encouraging new industries, 

 have undoubtedly given a great im- 

 petus to apiculture in South Australia, 

 and their action in this respect is 

 worthy of imitation by similar bodies 

 in the other Colonies. 



Mr. A. W. Dobbie moved the 

 adoption of the report, which was 

 creditable to the Hon. Secretary, who 

 had drawn it up. The rfesult of 

 Messrs. Coleman & May's operations 

 was highly encouraging. He esti- 

 mated the value of the honey at £300, 

 which, if he were right, was a wonder- 

 ful result. 



Mr. Molineux seconded the motion, 

 and remarked that although Mount 

 Barker was exceptionally good, there 

 were places in the Southeast, in the 

 Banksia country, which would prob- 

 ably give infinitely better results. 

 There were hundreds of miles densely 

 covered witli Banksia ernata and B. 

 marginata, the bottle-brush flowers of 

 which were always present, and 

 abounded in honey, which could be 

 shaken out into the hand. There were 

 innumerable other honey-bearing 

 trees and plants in that district, and 

 he thought the maximum average 

 would be marvellous when that coun- 

 try came to be occupied by bee- 

 keepers. 



The Hon. R. D. Ross said that 

 when he advocated the introtiuction 

 of the Ligurian bees, he had not only 

 the honey and wax in view, but also 

 the fact that bees were essential to 

 the fertilization of our orchards. 

 The Eucalypti flowered about every 

 third year, but there were so many 

 species of them that there was 

 scarcely ever a time when two or 

 three species were not in bloom- 

 probably no two months could ever be 

 selected in which there was not one 

 species in bloom. He trusted that bee- 

 keeping would lead to the establish- 

 ment of an industry advocated 

 strongly by his friend Sir Samuel 



