THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 71 
their efforts to find food, will visit breweries, 
jam factories, and grocers and other shops, and 
become a perfect nuisance in the neighbour- 
hood. In February the bluegums suddenly 
come into flower, but by this time only the 
strongest and best provisioned colonies are 
left, and they are not in fit condition to take 
advantage of the magnificent flow of honey 
that is offered to them. In this manner the 
whole season is lost, and the careless beekeeper 
bitterly complains of his bad luck. But there 
are a few apiarists who know that by giving 
their bees a little care and attention during 
the bad time, they will be sure to reap a good 
harvest. They do not allow swarming if it 
can possibly be avoided, and everything is 
done to keep all colonies equally strong. In 
September, when hives are getting heavy from 
the marigolds, all surplus combs of sealed 
honey are removed and stored for future 
requirements. This honey, although not fit 
for table use, is excellent food for bees. If 
there is not sufficient of this to carry the 
colonies through the bad time, they are fed 
twice a week with sugar syrup. Only barely 
enough is given to supply the wants of each 
colony until the time arrives for making pre- 
parations for the harvest. It is easily proved 
that thirty-five days is required after an egg is 
laid until the bee from that egg is in its prime 
as a field worker. Therefore, thirty-five days 
before a flow of honey is expected, the colonies 
are fed liberally every other day, and the 
queen is kept at her full egg-laying capacity 
so as to ensure a host of workers at the 
required time. As soon as blossoms are seen 
on the trees, the old queen is removed from 
each hive intended to be worked for comb 
honey, a young laying queen is introduced, and 
the boxes are put on. In my own neighbour- 
hood, the honey flow set in about the begin- 
ning of February, and steadily continued to 
the present time. I am informed that there 
is a good demand for honey, both extracted 
and in the comb, and that excellent prices are 
realised. 
The solar wax extractor has proved to be of 
great use in South Australia, and will no 
doubt supersede the troublesome boiling-down 
machines. 
The time has now arrived for sending to 
Italy orders for queens, and beekeepers are 
making up sets of a dozen. The usual way is 
for three or four persons to join together in an 
order for twelve queens to arrive here in 
October. On receiving the boxes, they are 
fairly divided before opening, so that each 
person takes his chance about the queens he 
receives. The Italian bees have proved them- 
selves so infinitely superior to the blacks as 
noney gatherers in this climate, that they 
are in great demand. The best results are 
obtained from the pure bred Italians, or the 
first cross. 
A. E. Bonney. 
Adelaide, 1st June, 1886. 
( To the Editors of the Australian Beekeepers' 
Journal.) 
Gentlemen,— On the 3rd March I left 
Melbourne for a holiday. At this time I had 
four hives (Sussex bar frames,) well filled with 
bees, about nine frames being covered, all 
apparently in a healthy condition. 
1 returned home on the 3rd April, and the 
next day examined my hives. They had all 
dwindled to about five or six frames, no 
brood or eggs being visible. There was no 
honey in any of the hives, and I was unable 
to find a queen in any. I then commenced to 
feed with syrup, and at the end of ten days 
again examined the hives, when I was glad 
to find healthy brood and eggs in each. I 
continued feeding, but did not again disturb 
the hives until the end of May. I then found 
that in three of the hives the brood was all 
dead ; some of the cells were uncapped, dis- 
closing dead bees ; no eggs or live brood could 
be found. The fourth hive was in good con- 
dition, not having dwindled any more, and 
healthy brood was still visible. 
The day that I first noticed the healthy 
brood was a fine, warm, sunny day, and the 
frames were rapidly withdrawn and returned 
to the hives for fear of chilling the brood. 1 
shall be glad to know if any of your corre- 
spondents can give me any explanation as to 
the cause of the dead brood. 
Robert Barton. 
Gentlemen, — As the winter comes upon 
us, and hives dwindle, those who have little 
experience of beekeeping are apt to find them- 
selves confronted by problems of a somewhat 
startling character. We find, for instance, 
the outer frames of our hives with here and 
there a capped cell, containing dead brood of 
different stages of development, with the 
capping either perforated or completely sealed: 
and in these cases the question suggests itself 
as to the distinction between what has been 
so much written about under the name of 
“ foul brood ” and the alternative influencing 
cause — namely, the chilling influence of winter 
weather. Foul brood, if I have understood 
the explanations afforded by books on the 
honey-bee, is regarded as a contagious disease 
of the colony, pervading alike the tissues of the 
parent bees, the juices of the egg, and those 
of the brood in its various stages ; first killing 
