100 MONEY IN BEES IN AUSTRALASIA 



CATERING FOR A SPECIAL CLASS OF CONSUMER. 



Mr. Garrett, one of the pioneers of the frame-hive 

 in Australasia, one time produced tiny comb-honey 

 sections made of wooden shavings, which, when filled 

 with honey, weighed but 2 ozs. While Mr. Garrett is a 

 past master at producing comb, and his locality eminently 

 adapted for it, his experience was, that the luxurious 

 hotels of the metropolis would not pay a remunerative 

 price, so he abandoned comb (of which he produced a 

 great many tons) in favour of extracted. 



The Americans, notably the great A.I. Eoot Co., of 

 Ohio, cater for this select trade by putting up tiny squares 

 of cut comb in special wrappers decorated with gold, 

 etc., and make a success of it. In Texas, comb-honey is 

 cut from the frames, then put into tins, and a large 

 trade has been built up with "chunk" or bulk-comb 

 as it is named. 



Should comb-honey be kept in stock for any length 

 of time, it is essential that the temperature of the store- 

 room be fairly steady. If it fluctuates each evening the 

 honey will most likely "candy" or assume a solid form, 

 (localities producing honey that candies quickly are not 

 suitable for comb-honey) ; the cappings will also crack 

 and the honey sweat from the fissures. Wax is more sus- 

 ceptible to heat than honey; consequently the expansion 

 and contraction of the cappings, unaccompanied by 

 similar phenomena on the part of the honey, are respon- 

 sible for cracked surfaces and sticky non-saleable sections. 



If the apiarist can obtain even 9/- per dozen for 

 sections, he should be able to make comb-honey production 

 a payable business. While sections are retailed in the 

 capital cities at 1/- each, the prices offered to producers 

 are not sufficient to induce them to go in extensively 

 for this class. Possibly a trade could be built up by 

 following the Texans' lead with "chunk" honey. 



BEES HANGING OUT. 

 When the temperature mounts steadily from sunrise 

 as the precursor of a hot day, it will be noticed that some 



