66 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



of the financial condition of tlie 

 cultivator ; which is the earnest 

 wish of the writer, 



W. A. Prtal. 

 No. Teviescal, Col. 



notes from new zealand. 

 Ed. Am. Apictjlturist : 



While 3'our bees are taking their 

 winter rest, ours are in the height 

 of their summer activity. Though 

 the season up to the present has 

 been only moderately good for bees, 

 a good quantity of honey has been 

 secured in most districts, and 

 should this month and next con- 

 tinue as good, or better, the sea- 

 son's results will be satisfactory. 



New honey is now being placed 

 in the market and fair prices are 

 being obtained. The N. Z. B. 

 Association has made an attempt 

 to regulate the prices of honey, so 

 as to maintain a fair rate, and pre- 

 vent the market being glutted by 

 persons anxious to sell their crop 

 at once. The retail dealers, I un- 

 derstand, resent this interference 

 on the part of the association, and 

 as there are a good many produ- 

 cers who are not members of the 

 association, it is likely to be a dif- 

 ficult question for the committee to 

 deal with. Hitherto there has 

 been no regular supplies or mar- 

 ket rates or anything satisfactory 

 to guide either the seller or the 

 buyer. A woman from the coun- 

 try was recently in Auckland sell- 

 ing her new season's honey in 1 lb. 

 sections to the dealer at a sixpence 

 per lb. Imagine her disgust at 

 finding that others had been selling 

 theirs at nine to ten pence. 



Now that persons who have for 

 some time been keeping bees be- 

 gin to understand the nature of foul 

 brood it is being found in many 

 parts of the colony , and an ellbrt will 

 be made to obtain legislation for the 

 purpose of exterminating it if pos- 

 sible. I fear but little practical 



good will result from this. Tlie 

 numerous cures which are now be- 

 ing published and tried may do 

 more. I have an idea that it will 

 have its periods like those infec- 

 tious diseases which attack cattle, 

 iiorses, and sheep, but which pass 

 away. The injurious efl'ects may 

 be greatly reduced by care and the 

 use of those remedies which expe- 

 rience and science suggest. 



Our second Auckland annual 

 show is in course of preparation and 

 will probably take place sometime 

 in March next. A liberal prize list 

 is being arranged, which will no 

 doubt induce a good display both of 

 honey and the various appliances 

 of the apiarj'. 



In New South "Wales, Victoria 

 and South Australia rapid strides 

 are being made in beekeepino. In 

 a few years if the progress contin- 

 ues it will have grown into a very 

 considerable industr}^ and honey 

 will form one of the regular arti- 

 cles of diet ; a position which it 

 has not, by any means j-et attained 

 in these colonies, but is looked 

 upon more as a luxur}- , beyond the 

 reach of the masses. 



As the demand for hives and 

 other appliances increases, greater 

 effoits are being made hy the man- 

 ufacturers to supply it. Some of 

 the colonial makers are, however, 

 adopting a questionable mode of 

 securing, or trying to secure, the 

 monopoly of certain well-known 

 and valued articles, by taking out 

 patent rights for these as inven- 

 tions of their own. Most of these 

 articles are from your countr}- and 

 not patented there, such as the 

 Langstroth frame and hive. Such 

 proceedings are very reprehensible, 

 and of no legal force if contested, 

 as only genuine inventions can be 

 patented, but they serve to frighten 

 those who know no better. 



N. Z. Correspondent. 



Jan. 2, 1885. 



