THE 
Australian 
m 
JOURNAL. 
Yol. I. — No. 5.] APRIL, 1886. [Pbice 6d. 
EDITORIAL NOTICES, &c. 
The Bee Season in the Southern parts of 
Australia may now be said to be ever, and the 
bees are gradually falling into their Winter 
mode of work. Except in the south of New 
Zealand, or on the highest grounds in 
Tasmania, New South Wales, and Victoria, 
the rigours of an European or North American 
Winter are unknown, and there are not many 
days between Autumn and Spring in other- 
parts of Australasia, upon which our friends 
cannot fly out for air, recreation, food and 
water ; indeed, on most of our fine days in 
midwinter we find them returning with pollen, 
and often with a little honey too, from our 
Winter flowers. Breeding goes on in strong 
stocks all the Winter through, although on a 
small scale, and bees never have the enforced 
rest for many weeks which they are subject to 
in countries where snow and frost rule for 
months together. Nevertheless, all wise bee- 
keepers make a little preparation for the quiet 
season by tucking up their stocks in frame 
hives, by removing empty combs and closing 
up those containing brood and honey by 
means of a division board, putting a good mat, 
or even two, of “ bagging” canvas over the 
frames, with provision for feeding if necessary ; 
uniting weak or queenless colonies with 
stronger ones, and making all snug against 
rain and damp weather. Bees in boxes should 
be well protected from rain by sheets of 
galvanised iron, bark, or coverings of boards 
or palings. Boxes that admit rain or are 
damp through the Winter, always dwindle, 
and get very weak before Spring. Feeding 
should be certainly resorted to if honey is 
scarce in the hive, and all hives with light 
combs should be fed regularly if strong Spring 
stocks are wanted, for although bees do get a 
little throughout our Winter, it is not enough 
to maintain a colony that started the Winter 
short of stores. At the same time care should 
be taken not to overfeed so that every cell is 
filled with food, for the rearing of brood 
would then probably cease altogether ; and it 
must be remembered that if bees work in the 
Winter they don’t live so long as when dormant 
and quiet, and as a consequence, a hive would 
soon become weak if brood rearing were to be 
suspended for several weeks, as might happen 
from cold, damp, or crowding the combs with 
food. 
The news obtained from various parts of 
the colonies concerning the honey yield and 
increase in stocks is of a very varied character. 
In South Australia the season has not been by 
any means a good one, and indeed the early 
portion was almost disastrous ; an immense 
number of colonies were actually starved 
through the prevailing drought. Matters 
improved after the beginning of the year, 
when the Eucalypts began to yield, but even 
that source was poorer than usual. In Western 
Victoria, also, there have been great losses 
and poor yields, although our friend Mr. 
Naveau has had a very satisfactory Autumn 
harvest at Hamilton. Others have either had 
to feed their bees largely or have lost them 
by starvation or disease. In the country 
around about Melbourne success has been 
only moderate, while very fair yields are 
reported from more favoured districts, where 
clover lucerne and Eucalyptus have afforded 
ample forage for the bees. The best reports 
are from our wooded mountain sides and the 
moist forest lands of Gippsland, where bee- 
keepers have done remarkably well. Reports 
