THE 
JOURNAL. 
Voi.. II.— No. 7.] DECK A 
JE&itortal. 
HINTS FOR JANUARY. 
I’he summer being now fairly established, and 
the first honey flow over for all except moun- 
tain localities, the beekeepers generally have 
somewhat less busy times. In mountainous 
localities lying over fifteen hundred feet above 
the sea level the chief honey flow does not 
come on till near Christmas, and is at its 
height in January. For such localities 
our hints for November and December 
will apply. In lower lands very much will 
depend on the season that has past whether 
bees can still gather honey from clover and 
late flowering shrubs. In many places the 
eucalyptus will afford a generous supply 
throughout the summer and autumn months, 
and constitute the chief source of autumn- 
gathered honey in these latitudes. 
Increase by swarming has been unusually 
great this season in many places, and our late 
rains will lengthen the first honey harvest, so 
that swarms from this year’s prime swarms 
may be expected well into January, and later 
in higher grounds, therefore beekeepers will 
still be kept on the watch. 
It is well to strengthen up all weak stocks 
or late swarms by uniting, for it is bad policy 
to have a lot of small colonies struggling for 
existence, exposed to robbing whenever honey 
gets scarce, and requiring great care and feed- 
ing to bring them up to a state for going 
through the winter. Some information about 
uniting is given in another part of this 
number. 
Foul brood is destroying numerous stocks, 
and whole apiaries, where it is not battled 
)'ith, and in places where its very existence 
u* denied, and it is just when the first rush of 
the honey season is over that bees an* most 
habit* to contract this pestilence, therefore 
every careful beekeeper will examine bis 
SR 10, 1887. [Price 6d. 
1 stocks, and take action whenever he sees any 
signs of it. See that every stock possesses a 
queen, for queens often get lost from old age 
or otherwise, without leaving behind them 
eggs from which the colony can raise others. 
Unless extracting has been carried on regu- 
larly it will be well to extract from outside 
or surplus combs at once, as later the honey 
gets so thick that it is difficult to throw out. 
All section boxes in the supers that are sealed 
or filled should be also removed, as they get 
discolored if left in the hive during the bees* 
idle season. Those partially filled can be put 
back as soon as honey is found to be again 
coming in, or they can be extracted and the 
combs carefully preserved for use when re- 
quired. Beekeepers with boxhives, who take 
their honey by the “robbing’’ process, had 
better do it now than later ; the honey will he 
better, and the bees have more time to gather 
winter stores. If feeding is found to be 
necessary feed regularly, but not too freely, 
with syrup rather thin, say ljlb. sugar to the 
pint with a good teaspoonful of salt. If 
honfy can be got from a source certainly free 
from disease, it should be made a little fluid 
with water. Some apiculturists who use 
honey for feeding boil it to be safe from con- 
tagion, it then becomes about equal to syrup, 
and no better, for all essential oils are evapo- 
rated and flavor gone ; others add a little 
! salicylic acid to it in order to destroy any 
possible germs of foul brood. Honey for bee 
I food is undoubtedly best, but the objection is 
that if it has come from a diseased hive it is 
almost sure to infect the stock with it, unless 
I it has been boiled or mixed with some germi- 
cidal substance like phenol or salicylic acid* 
— ♦— 
UNITING BEES. 
Numerous occasions arise in beekeeping 
where uniting one or more stocks with 
another is necessary or desirable, and more 
