Bee-keeping Industry in Victoria. 



In no part of the State is the country fully stocked with the number 

 of colonies it can profitably carry, while in the eastern portion there are 

 large tracts of suitable country as yet quite untouched by bee culture. 



The honey obtained from most of the eucalypts is of a high standard 

 containing only fro'm 12 to 17 per cent, of water, and, therefore, has a 

 higier food value than honey from other sources. lb has a characteristic 

 aroma and flavour of its own which Australian consumers prefer to that 

 of clover. With the advance of settlement and the rapid, extension of 

 irrigation now taking place, the amount of honey from clovers, lucerne 

 (alfalfa), rape, &c., will rapidly increase opening up fresh fields for bee- 

 keeping as an adjunct to fruit-growing, dairying, and other occupa- 

 tions. 



Production. 



Only a fraction, perhaps not more than one- tenth of the nectar 

 produced by the flora is at present gathered by bees. The total pro- 

 duction of honey is still barely sufiicient to meet the demands of local 

 consumption, in consequence the price of honey in Victoria is generally 

 somewhat in advance of other States, and the export trade of limited 

 dimensions. When, with the. gencTal adoption of better methods, 

 production has been cheapened and the local demand overtaken there 

 will be no difiicultv in finding oversea markets. 



The Government Statist, in the latest edition of the Victorian Y ear- 

 Book (1912-13) gives the state- of the bee-keeping industry in the fol- 

 lowing figures : — 



Bee-keeping Statistics, Season 1912-13. 



Number of bee-keepers in the State, 4,976; number of hives, 52,723; 

 amount of honey produced, 3,277,590 lbs. ; amount of bees-wax produced, 

 45,354 lbs. 



At the average market price olr3d. per lb. for honey, and 14d. per 

 lb. for bees-wax, the total value of production for 1912-13 was £39,425. 



According to thesie figures- the average number of hives per bee- 

 keeper is eleven, and the average .return 14s. lid. per hive. Examples 

 of what has actually been done by some apiarists as given hereunder 

 will indicate the possibilities of the industry : — 



(1) Mr. , a city dweller, commenced bee-farming in 1906. 



He had no previous experience. At the end of that year he had fiftv 

 hives; at the end of 1911 he had 270 hives, and received £406 13s. 5d. 

 for his products. "'* 



(2) Mr, commenced in 1900 with two hives; he has now 200, 



obtaining £375 for honey alone in 1912-13, and values his apiaries and 

 bee ranges at £4,000. 



(3) Mr. commenced in 1899 with an average number of 150 



colonies, he has for fourteen years averaged £337 per annum. 



The average returns for a number of years are given in the above 

 examples, for isolated seasons much higher returns could be instanced 

 such as 480 lbs. per colony for 220 hives in one season. Most of the 

 eucalypts flower every second year a number of varieties together; for- 

 tunately this ieavy blooming and extra high yield of honey does not 

 occur in the same year all over the State. By a system of locating the 



