260 



MONEY IN BEES IN AUSTRALASIA 



Fig. 93. Stringybark (Common) 



is very strong and "catches the throat" when tasted. 



The flavour of ripe 

 Stringybark honey is 

 quite distinctive, and 

 people accustomed to it 

 prefer this rich -flavoured 

 dark honey to any other. 

 ' ' Stringybark ' ' honey is 

 of crystal clearness and 

 may be kept for years 

 "without candying. Apiar- 

 ists have reported yields up to 160 lbs. per hive. 



Stringybark, (Yellow), {E. Mulleriana). A poor- 

 blooming species of little use to the apiarist for honey, 

 but gives a little pollen. One of the hardest timbers in 

 Australia. 



Stringybark (Brown), {E. capitellata) . The Stringy- 

 bark tree of the Stawell district. The honey from this 

 tree is about the darkest produced in Victoria and the 

 flavour is anything but pleasant, in fact, the aroma of 

 a newly-opened tin is decidedly disagreeable. It is not 

 to be compared with the beautiful honey gathered from 

 the Gippsland Stringybark. This great diversity in 

 Stringybark honey has led to much controversy between 

 Eastern and Western Victorian bee-keepers. The 

 Western apiarist is quite unable to understand the Gripps- 

 landers' love of the Stringybark product. This is the 

 Stringybark tree of New South Wales. 



Stringybark, (G-ippsland), {E. eugenioides). Vari- 

 ously known as Eed and White Stringybark. Grippsland 

 Stringybark would be more appropriate, for large crops 

 up to 14 tons have been harvested from this "Gripps- 

 lander." The buds — very tiny — are borne in numerous 

 clusters and are quite unlike those of the Common 

 "Stringy," being only one-third the size. A fine honey- 

 tree from which a plentiful supply of pollen is assured. 

 Bees winter splendidly on it, and sometimes brood-combs 

 are clogged with its creamy-coloured pollen in autumn. 



