160 



MONEY IN BEES IN AUSTRALASIA 



soiling of the hive, especially about the entrance. The 

 bloated-looking bees crawl up the hive-front attempting 

 to fly, until a dirty-brown discharge takes place ; the bees 

 then quickly recover. Warm weather is about the only 

 effective cure. 



The food supply undoubtedly exercises a great 

 influence on the health of the honey-bee during winter. 

 Honey that contains a large percentage of albumen is 

 invaluable for breeding purposes in the warm months, 

 but this very feature makes it unsuitable as winter food. 

 Grey box and " Stringybark " honey have relatively large 

 amounts, and "Yellow box," "Bed box" and "Red 

 gum" give very small precipitates. So that if unsuitable 

 stores were gathered in the autumn better extract the 

 lot and give a cake of candy as described elsewhere. 

 Scientific investigation will sooner or later discover the 

 effects of difi'erent honeys on the health of the bee. 



At the present time little is known of the relation of 

 tannic acid to the albuminous content of some Aus- 

 tralasian honey. The "Grey box" product, rich in 

 albumen, may have a strong affinity for tannin with 

 consequent disaster when used as winter food. 

 Appended is an analysis of honey showing absence of 

 tannin in European samples. 



