Bee-keeping in Victoria. 53 



several years, but our high average is made up of a glut one season 

 and a comparative dearth in the following. We have " on " and 

 " off " years; and, while it is comparatively easy to produce good 

 sections in the " on " j^ear, it would be quite unprofitable to attempt 

 it in the " off " year. 



In the case of extracted honey, much of it is held over from one 

 season to another without any deterioration in quality. Comb-honey, 

 however, cannot be kept in perfect condition for any length of time, 

 except with a considerable amount of trouble in providing dry warm 

 storage. Thus, 1 lb. sections may be rather plentiful one season and 

 almost unobtainable the following, and the prices proportionately 

 high. Under these conditions, neither production nor consumption 

 can be expected to increase. 



Some ten to fifteen years ago, several apiarists produced comb- 

 honey on a large scale, but abandoned its production for that of ex- 

 tracted honey. Much of the section honey which finds its way on to 

 the market now is produced by bee-keepers in a small way; and in 

 appearance leaves much room for improven>ent. 



As already stated, skill is required to produce comb-honey profit- 

 ably. The conditions necessary to make comb-honey production 

 profitable are — 1. A sufficient amount of the right kind of honey- 

 producing flora within reach of the bees. 2. Atmospheric conditions 

 favorable to the secretion of nectar and the flight of bees. 3. Strong 

 colonies in which the maximum number of the workers are field bees. 

 The factors 1 and 2 depend upon the locality, while the third is one 

 depending upon the skill and energy of the bee-keeper; this should 

 from the very commencement of the season be directed towards secur- 

 ing the greatest possible number of field bees in each hive at the 

 beginning of the main honey flow, and to maintain the strength of 

 the colonies while the honey flow lasts. Under Australian conditions, 

 such as the irregular blooming of some of the honey-producing trees 

 and the periodical scarcity of pollen, it is in some localities practically 

 impossible to bring colonies to that condition which is necessary to 

 the profitable production of first-class 1 lb. sections of comb-honey. 

 In districts where the main honey flow begins shortly after the bloom- 

 ing of that valuable pollen plant. Cape Weed, there is little difficulty 

 in having colonies in the right condition for comb-honey, provided 

 that they had wintered well, and that each colony has a vigorous 

 queen. " Cape Weed is now so widely distributed over Victoria that 

 there are few localities where it is not plentiful on any open spaces, 

 for it does not thrive in close forest or scrub country, and is, therefore, 

 absent in the vicinity of some of the best apiary sites in the State. In 

 such localities the hives are often not in a condition to produce comb- 

 honey at a profit, and the colonies had better be kept in a locality with 

 a plentiful early pollen supply and shifted on to the honey site when 

 the flow begins. 



There are many other localities where Cape Weed and other pollen 

 producers are plentiful, but too long an interval occurs before the 

 honey flow commences, and the bees are then often in a backward con- 

 dition, more so when, as is usually the case in such districts, there has 

 been much swarming. Swarming is a factor that has to be reckoned 



