21 



that my letters patent are being 

 infringed by parties making and selling 

 similar hives, I hereby inform them that 

 I am the sole proprietor of letters patent 

 for the manufacture of movable-frame 

 hives, etc., and shall take proceedings 

 against anyone infringing the same. — 

 (Signed) S. L. Chapman, proprietor." 

 With this was enclosed the follovifing 

 letter:— "Toorak Road, South Jarra, 

 30th March, 1885. H.,Naveau, Beekeeper, 

 Hamilton.— Sir, — As I am informed that 

 you are making and selling hives' similar 

 to mine I have to request that you will 

 inform me how many hives you have 

 made and sold, and to whom. — I am, 

 sir, yours truly (signed) S. L. Chapman, 

 manager." 



Needless to say, I advised him and 

 others to take no notice of threats, and 

 subsequently I oflfered to fight the case, 

 if need be, personally. However, after 

 the exposure in my journal, the whole 

 business was quashed and nothing more 

 was heard of patent hives, etc., in 

 Australia. 



STIRRING HON^EY— AN ACCIDENTAIi 

 DISCOVERY. 

 While at Matamata I accidentally 

 stumbled on a scheme of improving the 

 texture (grain) and also to a certain 

 extent the colour of granulated honey — 

 a simple process to which no one can 

 take objection. On one occasion I had 

 overlooked removing some honey from 

 the lower part of an uncapping can that 

 had drained from cappings until it had 

 so far granulated (though still soft) that 

 it would not run through the honey 

 tap. There was quite lOOlbs in the can, 

 and knowing that by stirring the honey 

 it would be made sort enough to run, 

 I worked it well with a wooden paddle 

 nntil it ran slowly through the tap. 



Not having been properly strained I 

 set this honey apart from that I was 

 marketing. Some time after when it 

 had become firmly granulated I was sur- 

 prised to find the grain, or texture, of 

 this particular honey much finer, and 

 the colour somewhat lighter than that 

 extracted from the same combs. After 

 giving the matter much thought I won- 

 dered whether the stirring of the honey 

 had made the difference, and as the last 

 of the honey had been extracted I had 

 to wait until the next season before 

 conducting conclusive tests. The result 

 of several tests proved to my own satis- 

 faction that stirring honej' when Lom- 



mencing to granulate does improve it. 

 I have carried out the process ever since, 

 and at the Government apiaries, and also 

 made it known through the columns of 

 the "New Zealand Farmer" on different 

 occasions. I understand it is now gen- 

 erally practised by our leading bee- 

 keepers. 



I had never read or heard of the pro- 

 cess before I stumbled upon it, so that 

 probably it can be claimed as a New 

 Zealand discovery. 



THE BREAKING-UP OF MATAMATA 

 APIARY. 

 During the season of 1886-7 I was 

 threatened on more than one occasion 

 with a severe breakdown of my health, 

 the strenuous work of the previous eight 

 years was beginning to tell, and on the 

 advice of two medical men I decided on 

 making a change. In May, 1887, I re- 

 moved to Auckland, the change and a 

 couple of months' comparative rest did 

 me much good. The young man who 

 took charge of the apiary had been a 

 cadet with me and wa<5 quite capable of 

 carrying it on successfully, but unfor- 

 tunately for him the estate, owing to 

 some financial difficulties, was wound up 

 a few months after I left, when the 

 whole of the bees and plant were sold, 

 and also the land. 



It gave the owner of the estate great 

 satisfaction when my final balance-sheet 

 was made up to learn that the net profits 

 from the bees for the whole of my term 

 was nearly £400 per annum. The ex- 

 penses were very heavy, the freight from 

 Auckland for most of the time until 

 the train ran through to Lichfield was 

 £7 per ton. Mr. Firth frequently told 

 his visitors in my presence that the bees 

 were the only things paying on his 

 estate. It was a good augury for the 

 future of bee-farming in New Zealand 

 that the first commercial bee farms es- 

 tablished should have been so profitable, 

 and it was very satisfactory to me. I 

 was very sorry indeed when the bees 

 with everything else on the estate had 

 to be sold. 



BEEKEEPING AROUND AUCKLAND 

 IN 1887. 

 When leaving Matamata I took with 

 me to Auckland a number of colonies 

 containing my hest breeding queens to 

 keep the queen trade going, as it was 

 then very extensive. During the season 



