THE 
ustrnlian Ifeekeepers 
JOURNAL. 
VOL. II.— No. 8.] JANUARY 10, 1888. [Price 6d. 
E&itortal. 
HINTS FOR FEBRUARY. 
February in Australia often yields a good 
honey harvest from Eucalyptus and other late 
flowering trees, and from clover, &c. in moist 
localities. Honey collected in February, 
March and April is generally finer than that 
gathered in the Spring and early Summer 
months. 
As very much depends on the season as 
well as the locality, it is advisable to watch 
onr friends pretty closely, and give more 
storage room immediately they are found to 
be bringing in honey. The advice given for 
last month as regards nunaging sections and 
extracting should be adhered to. 
In ordinary seasons breeding will now have 
diminished, and be almost at a minimum, and 
although a good honey-flow may bring about 
an increased activity of the queen in this 
direction, our experience has shown us that in 
all strong colonies very little brood space is 
occupied after February, and all cells used in 
«n P art ' seasou for brood are now 
filled up with honey. If we are working for 
section-honey, therefore, it is best to contract 
the brood nest to 8, or even G combs, so as to 
compel the bees to store in the sections instead 
of the outside combs. If, on the other hand, 
worlc ‘ u b r for extracted honey, allow them 
to fill up the outside frames, and extract as 
soon as the comb is full without waiting for 
sealing up. By this plan extracting can be 
done more rapidly and cleanly without much 
trouble in uncapping ; at the same time the 
honey will ripen quickly if left in an open 
▼68sel (with a bee and ant proof wire net 
cover over it) because the air is generally so 
dry in February that evaporation of water 
rom the honey takes place very quickly 
It is well to do any uniting or joining-up of 
stocks before February, so as to concentrate 
our forces upon any honey-flow that may occur. 
In January, February, and March large 
amounts of honey are obtained in our forests 
on the mountain sides, and from clearings laid 
down in clover ; it is quite possible, therefore, 
for beekeepers to adopt the plan followed in 
England, Scotland, and many parts of the 
Continent, that is, to move their bees from a 
locality favorable for Spring and Summer bee 
pasture to localities rich in late Summer and 
Autumn pasture. 
Although in many localities February will 
yield a good harvest, it often becomes necess- 
ary to feed in this month, and the careful bee- 
keeper will keep a sharp look-out that every 
stock has a fair supply of food, and will at 
once commence to feed as soon as he sees 
evidence of failing stores. 
ITALIAN QUEENS FROM KANGAROO 
ISLAND. 
The action taken by the Government of 
South Australia with regard to Kangaroo 
Island in connection with the apicultural 
industry, by the prohibition of the introduc- 
tion on that Island of any bees except the 
pure Ligurian or Italian, in order to keep up 
the purity of the imported race, is already 
bearing fruit, and promises to be a success, 
and a great practical advantage to bee- 
masters. 
The great difficulty in apiculture is to secure 
the mating of young queens from imported 
mothers with the true Italian Drone, and it 
is almost impossible to attain this under 
ordinary circumstances, without very great 
trouble and considerable care. If, however, a 
locality can be found where no Black or 
Hybrid bees exist, a beemaster can make 
sure of his young queens mating only with his 
own selected drones. In a former number of 
this Journal, page 120 and 121, vol. i. j an 
account is given of what has been done 
