21 



cannot control his bees has the most to fear from this moth, 

 for when once it gets into a box hive there is no means of getting 

 rid of it without cutting out ail the combs, which in such a case 

 would practically mean the destruction of the colony. On the 

 other hand, the up-to-date beekeeper with movable-frame hives, 

 and who follows the golden rule of beekeeping — viz., keeping all 

 colonies strong — has nothing whatever to fear from the moth or 

 any other enemies of the bee. 



Italian bees can protect themselves against the large moth better 

 than the common or black bees, therefore on this account alone it is 

 advisable to cultivate these in preference to the others. 



Fumigating Combs. 

 It is not only the combs within the hives that are liable to be 

 attacked by the moth, but they become a prey to the latter wher- 

 ever they happen to be unprotected. No combs or pieces of combs 

 should be allowed to lie about; when they are of no further service 

 they should be melted into wax at once. Spare combs should 

 always be stored in a place of safety from the moth, and inspected 

 frequently. On the first sign of grubs they should be fumigated, 

 and a few days after should undergo a second fumigation. When 

 there are not many to do they may be suspended in empty hives 

 about lin. apart, and the latter piled one on the other, taking care 

 that the junctions of the boxes are made smoke-tight by pasting a 

 strip of paper round them. The top box of the pile should contain 

 no frames. Into this place an old iron saucepan containing live 

 wood-embers, and on to these throw a couple of handfuls of sulphur, 

 close the cover securely and keep closed for a couple of days. In 

 a large apiary it is best to have a small room fitted up for the 

 purpose. Two or three pounds of sulphur will be suflScient for a 

 large room. 



V. APICULTUEE IN EBLATION TO AGEICULTUEE.* 



The benefits derived by both agriculturists and horticulturists 

 from the labours of the bee are now very generally understood and 



* This paper, which constituted the nineteenth chapter of the third edition of my 

 "Australasian Bee Manual " (now out of print), was an attempt, and I have reasons 

 for believing a successful attempt, to clear up several misunderstandings that had 

 arisen in the minds of some farmers who had come to regard the working of neighbours' 

 bees on their pasturage as detrimental to themselves, and to prove on the contrary that 

 it is really to their interests to encourage beekeeping. Shortly after the paper was 

 first published the subject was brought prominently forward in consequence of the 

 action taken by a farmer in the United States to claim damages from a neighbouring 

 beekeeper (or alleged injury done to his grazing-sheep by trespassing(?) bees. Needless 

 to say, tie lost his ca;e. The paper has been extensively quoted in several American 

 bee journals, and described as a "unique and valuable addition to bee literature " I 

 ^rust it may still serve a good purpose in this country where it first appeared. 



