76 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
lances -with Mr. F. Cheshire on this point, and 
adduces strong evidence that bacilli in the 
fluids or even tissues of bees does not neces- 
sarily mean disease ; if this be so, our new 
ideas about foul brood require revision. 
Carbolic acid vapour has been used (and is 
recommended) as a bee- quieter insteadof smoke ; 
it is said to be more effective (immediately 
quelling the most turbulent stocks)andeasierto 
usetbansmoke. Great care however is necessary 
that no acid drops into the hive, or the bees 
may vacate or become so alarmed as to perish 
in large numbers. The vapour is obtained by 
fixing a sponge in a wire cage inside a good 
smoker, dropping on it a few drops of a 
mixture of one part carbolic acid, two parts 
glycerine, and four of water. The sponge 
must not be saturated, but have only as much 
as it will hold without any chance of dropping. 
A new species of honey bee may be now 
said to have found its way into English apiaries, 
namely, the South African bee, which is stated 
to be very much like the Italian, but brighter, 
and a vigorous stinger. 
As is usual, there is no little controversy as to 
the propriety or necessityof wearing gloves and 
veils in apiculture. No argument will ever 
settle this question. Every one can see better 
without a veil, and feel better without gloves 
than with them— some don’t feel the stings of 
bees, but some do very acutely, and it is simply 
a matter of taste whether the pain and swelling 
from stings, or the obstruction of veils and 
gloves, are the greater evil. A beekeeper must 
be short of common sense if he suffers much 
from stings, and still manipulates them 
without protection, just because it is stated 
“ no experienced beekeeper ever wears gloves 
or veils.’' Many of our veteran apiculturists 
don’t despise such protection, although they 
are fully aware of the advantages resulting 
from being able to do without them. 
A writer in “ Roots’ Gleanings in Bee 
Culture,” for 15th May, says that he watched 
bees gathering pollen from cactus flowers, and 
states he found that they used honey for 
making it stick in the pollen baskets on their 
hind legs ; for, he states, the pollen taken from 
the bee stuck to the finger and tasted sweet, 
while that from the flower would not stick and 
had no sweet taste. 
PROCEEDINGS of BEEKEEPERS’ 
SOCIETIES, &c. 
South Australian Beekeepers' 
A ssociation. 
Annual Meeting. 
On Thursday evening the annual meeting 
of the S. A. Beekeepers’ Association was hold 
in the Chamber of Manufactures. There was 
a fair attendance. Mr. S. Solomon, who 
occupied the chair, stated that Dr. Poulton 
had sent a box of foundation combs. Messrs. 
A. W. Sandford and Co. had offered to assist 
the beekeepers to find a market for their 
produce. The Secretary (Mr. A. E. Bonney) 
read the second annual report, which stated 
that the Association had j ust passed through 
a bad season, i.e., one in which the gum 
trees flowered so late as to necessitate skilful 
management in order to secure a honey 
harvest ; but in spite of this, apiculture had 
made rapid progress in South Australia. 
The movable comb hive was to be seen in 
use in all parts of the country, and bees were 
managed in an intelligent and scientific 
manner. It had been clearly shown that 
the Ligurians, from their more energetic 
nature, thrive where their black competitors 
could not find an existence, and they were 
always first to take advantage of a flow of 
honey. Meetings had been held regularly 
each month throughout the year, and papers 
read. Most of the papers were _ written by 
experienced apiarists, and the information 
contained in them would prove highly 
instructive to beginners. In March last an 
exhibition of bees, honey, and appliances 
was held at the Exhibition Building in 
connection with the Royal Agricultural and 
Horticultural Society’s Show, and the thanks 
of the Association are certainly due to the 
Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society 
for its generosity in giving a substantial sum 
of money as prizes for the apiarian exhibits 
on that occasion. It was gratifying to note 
the energy with which local manufacturers 
had striven to meet the requirements of those 
engaged in the bee-keeping industry. Almost 
all the articles required by the modern 
apiarist were now manufactured in the Colony 
in such an excellent manner and at so reason- 
able a price that they would certainly com- 
pare favourably with similar imported goods. 
One of the best inventions yet introduced 
was the solar wax extractor, which had 
proved itself well suited to our climate. By 
the aid of this simple contrivance, the usual 
dirty and disagreeable method of converting 
old and refuse combs into wax was avoided, 
and the operation was performed in an easy 
manner by utilising the heat of the sun. The 
most important literary productions pertain- 
ing to the industry that had appeared during 
the year were the Australian Bee Manual , 
by Mr. Isaac Hopkins, published in New 
Zealand, and Bees and Beekeeping , by Mr. F. 
R. Cheshire, of England. At present only the 
first volume of Mr. Cheshire’s book had been 
published. The illustrations, which had been 
drawn by the author, were very excellent, 
