BEE MANUAL. 11 
of brimstoned bees, as a brand of disgrace to those who practise 
this horrid system :— 
HERE RESTS, 
CUT OFF FROM USEFUL LABOUR, 
A COLONY OF 
INDUSTRIOUS BEES, 
BASELY MURDERED 
BY ITS 
UNGRATEFUL AND IGNORANT OWNER. 
But this most barbarous and cruel practice is fast passing 
away, through the efforts of more enlightened and humane 
bee-keepers. 
Amongst those who have done good service in this direction 
is Dr. Irving, of Canterbury, who, soon after his arrival there 
in 1879, took steps to put bee-culture in the South Island on 
a proper footing. To do this, he placed a modern hive, con- 
taining a colony of bees, in the Public Gardens at Christchurch, 
and occasionally delivered lectures, with experiments, to those 
interested in bee-keeping. He has also written many interest- 
ing and valuable articles on bee-culture in the Canterbury 
Times. He was elected first president of the Christchurch Bee- 
keepers’ Association, which he was mainly instrumental in 
founding. 
About the same time, with the object of giving information 
to our bee-keeping settlers, I wrote a series of articles upon 
bee-culture, which appeared in our local papers, and which 
created such a large amount of interest and produced so many 
requisitions to me to publish them in book form, that I was 
induced, in the year 1881, to publish the first edition of this 
Maaual. The extent of the newly-awakened interest in the 
improved system of culture was shown by the fact that a new 
edition of the work was required within thirteen months ; and 
that being now exhausted, I am led to lay before the public 
the third edition in its present revised and greatly enlarged 
form. In July, 1883, the New Zealand and Australian Bee 
Journal was started by Mr. J. C. Firth, under my editorship, 
T having in the meantime entered into arrangements with that 
gentleman for the establishment aud working of extensive 
