ISO AUSTRALASIAN BEE MANUAL 



and in some districts clover honey is obtained in its 

 purest condition. The honey which fetches the highest 

 prices on the European markets is from clover, with a 

 proportion of what is termed " dandelion " honey in it, 

 the latter gives it a more pronounced flavour, and a 

 nearer approach to a bright amber colour, so much 

 desired. In Chapter V. I have already advised the 

 prospective commercial bee-keeper to choose a good 

 clover district for establishing his business, and this as 

 a rule, is associated with dairying. 



BEES AXD HORTICULTURE. 



My remarks in this connection are particularly relative 

 to fruit growing. Time was, and not long ago, when 

 many orchardists misunderstood the value of the hive- 

 bee as an agent in the production of fruit crops, and as 

 they had seen bees sucking the juices from ripe fruit 

 they concluded that bees were harmful to fruit growers. 

 Thanks, however, to a better knowledge of the subject, 

 it would, I think, be difficult to find an orchardist at the 

 present time who would not welcome the establishment 

 of an apiary in the vicinity of his orchard. 



BEES DO NOT INJURE FRUIT. 



It was 'commonly believed at one time that bees 

 punctured and destroyed grapes and other delicate fruits, 

 and, notwithstanding that the results of exhaustive 

 experiments conclusively proved the contrary, it took 

 a long time to correct this wrong impression. Bees 

 cannot puncture sound grapes, but during a dearth of 

 honey they will suck the juice from ripe grapes and 

 other fruits after they have been punctured by some 

 other animal,' or have burst through over-ripeness. 

 Sound grapes smeared with honey have been put into a 

 hive containing a starving colony of bees : the honey 

 has quickly vanished, but not a grape has been injured. 

 Bunches of sound grapes have been left in four or five 

 hives at a time, directly in contact with the bees, and 

 after three weeks every grape was perfectly intact, but 



