BEEKEEPING IN TASMANIA. 7 
shaken into a handy box, and as soon as most of the bees have settled down nicely, 
carry the box away and place it on the stand it is intended they shall occupy. In 
the evening they should be shaken into the hive they are to occupy, and mostly by 
morning they have fairly started housekeeping. If there shouldbe a dearth of 
honey at this time the new swarm should be fed until same comes in, and if the 
weather is very hot it is well to shade the new colony for a day or two, especially if 
it is put on all wax foundation. 
Honey aND THE Proper Time TO Start EXTRACTING. 
A fair indication of the right time to start extracting will be when the combs 
to be operated on are at least half to two-thirds sealed over, as it is not wire to 
extract too much unsealed honey. This might afterwards ferment and thus be 
spoilt. To get the very best quality it should be well ripened in the hive, and if 
sealed all over all the better. Wax is a valuable article, and should be taken care 
of. The best wax'is obtained from the cappings taken off when extracting, and 
this should be attended to as quickly as possible. Where a good cappings melter 
or reducer is used there is never a great amount of cappings lying about, as they 
are treated as the extracting goes on from day to day. Any broken or old combs 
should be melted up and put through some mode of treatment by: pressure to obtain 
the maximum of wax. This and any refuse from the hives should be attended to 
as often as it accumulates, and not left lying about for any length of time, as 
the wax moth will soon find it and in time destroy same. It should be men- 
tioned here that any refuse (usually called slum gum) from. a hive should be either 
burned or buried, the former for preference, and nothing left lying about for bees 
to get at, as this often induces robbing, and is also lable to spread disease if there 
is any present. Bees, like all other forms of animal and: insect life, are subject 
to certain diseases, and the beginner should make a study of these to be able to 
diagnose them at the commencement, and apply suitable treatment as promptly 
as possible. Foul brood is one of the worst enemies the beekeeper has to contend 
with, as it attacks the larve in the cells, and any treatment that would cure the 
disease would kill the bees. For the comfort of the prospective beekeeper, how- 
ever, it may be said that foul brood may be eliminated, even if not cured, and 
it should always be taken in hand as soon as possible, if conditions are favourable 
for treatment when discovered, but it must not be played with. It, of course, 
means some work and great care in dealing with it, owing to its infectious nature. 
Dysentery: this is often caused by unsuitable food or long confinement to the hives 
through bad weather. A spell of fine weather will usually put this right. Para- 
lysis: this is a disease more especially of hot climates, and is not very much to be 
feared in Tasmania. 
ImpLemMents NEEDED. 
As most persons thinking of engaging in bee culture will require to know as 
nearly as possible what special implements are required, it will be well to enumerate 
the principal ones, with probable cost of same. As mentioned before, a smoker 
and veil are needed, costing from 6s. 6d. to 15s., according to make 3 3s. to 4s. 6d. 
for a good veil; a hive tool, costing about 2s. 6d.; an uncapping knife, or, better, 
two at 7s. 6d. each. An extractor: this machine is made in various sizes, from 
the 2-frame ‘‘ Novice ’’ to a 6 or 8 frame machine. A suitable sized one for 
an apiary of up to 100 colonies, or even a little more, would be a 
9-framed one with 12-inch baskets. This would be suitable for the ordinary full- 
depth comb, one in each basket, or two combs in each basket of the ‘‘ Ideal ae size. 
A 2-frame 12-inch basket machine should be purchased for £7 to £8, with a little 
less for the 10-inch basket size; an uncapping box to hold the cappings as they 
are sliced off the combs. This need not be an expensive affair. The writer recom- 
