1 
134 THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS' JOURNAL. 
Beekeepers are recommended, as a further 
precaution, to close the entrance of all clean 
hives with a piece of perforated zinc on the 
evening previous to the day oil which the 
operation of transferring the hees is to he 
performed. Tf this is done, it is well to get 
through the work in the early morning’, and 
release all the bees as soon as the operation 
is over. 
The importance of thoroughly disinfecting 
every article used in the above, operation 
cannot be over-estimated. 
As indicating the opposition being shown to 
the “ Foul Brood Prevention Bill ” by certain 
classes of beekeepers in South Australia, we 
give the following extracts from the South 
Australian Register, being a report of a depu- 
tation to ttie Commissioner of Lands on 27th 
January, to protest against the operation of 
the Bill. 
THE EOIJL BROOD IN BEES ACT. 
A Protest. 
A numerous deputation of beekeepers from 
country districts waited upon the Commis- 
sioner of Crown Lands and Acting Chief 
Secretary (Hon. Jenkin Coles) on Friday, 
27th January, with a petition to be presented 
to His Excellency the Governor, praying that 
the operation of the Foul Brood in Bees Act of 
last session should be postponed for twelve 
months. 
Mr. Basedow, M.P., briefly introduced the 
deputation, which, he said, represented the 
beekeepers in all parts of the colony. The 
Foul Brood in Bees Act had been a cause of 
great dissatisfaction. The Bill had been 
passed rather hurriedly, and there was not 
sufficient time for the parties interested to 
express their opinion in time to prevent its 
being passed. 
Mr. Warren (Williamstown) said that the 
petition had been signed by 884 persons, 588 
of whom wei-e beekeepers, who held 6.7S7 
hives. Many of the memoralists depended 
in a great measure on the production of honey 
and wax for their livelihood, and the Act 
would inflict great hardship and loss on 
them. The petition included the following 
statements That it will be impossible to 
keep bees under the Act in the common boxes ; 
that the lowest quotation for the new style of 
box is 10s., and, as the Inspector will have 
power to order the transference of the whole 
of a man’s bees into new boxes on a Week’s 
notice if he chooses to think there is foul brood 
in them, together with the total destruction 
of the honey, wax, &c., in the hive, it will he 
necessary to keep a double set of boxes 1 on 
hand, thus doubling the cost. The necessary 
appliances, &c., will on the average cost about 
5s. per hive more, so the total cost will be 
about 25s. per hive of bees kept, a sum quite 
beyond the means of many of the memorial- 
ists, who will either have to go to this 
expense or destroy their bees. That the 
framers of the Act admit that there is much 
doubt and obscurity about what they call 
foul brood, and the memorialists believe that 
if such a disease exists here the danger from 
it has' been grossly exaggerated. That the 
Act passed through Parliament so hurriedly 
that no adequate time was given your 
memorialists to oppose it after its provisions 
became known, and that a memorial was got 
up hurriedly, for which 150 signatures, repre- 
senting 2,742 beehives, were obtained in two 
days in a thinly settled district. Had more 
time been available three or four times these 
numbers could have been got, as only two 
refused to sign, and that an overwhelming 
majority of the beekeepers in the colony are 
strongly opposed to the measure, and, had 
enough time been given your memorialists; 
the opposition to the Act would have been 
so strong that the Bill would not have passed. 
That, supposing there is such a disease as 
foul brood in the colony, the Act is altogether 
of too crude a nature. Properly qualified 
Inspectors will be difficult to obtain, and no 
adequate provision is made for the destruction 
of bees having disease in the trees ; and, if 
the disease is as contagious and infectious as 
some allege, it will be useless destroying the 
contents of the boxes if the bees iix the trees 
around are diseased. That many of the 
memorialists believe it would be a mistake to 
destroy the bees in trees, as depleted hives 
are often replenished with swarms from 
them.” The memorial asked that the opera- 
tion of the A ct should be postponed for twelve 
months to allow time for its repeal or amend- 
ment. The Act was passed in the Assembly 
in three consecutive sittings, so that no time 
was allowed for those interested to learn its 
provisions and oppose it. It was idle to say 
that the reports of the beekeepers’ meetings 
at Adelaide and Mount Barker wm’e notice 
enough. It appeared that there was no on? 
in the House who had any practical know- 
ledge of beekeeping, and no one therefore 
could speak on the subject or oppose the Bill 
with authority. The meniQrial thus contra'* 
dieted in the most direct manner the state- 
ment that the beekeepers of the colony wished 
for the Act. Six thousand seven hundred and 
eighty-seven hives under the old box system 
would yield in a good honey season an 
average of 80-lb. honey, worth 3d. per lb. -4 
.60,787 ; and, with very good management^ 
l ohe-balf more, or ,£10, 180, 'and 4-lb. of wax at 
9d. per' lb., .£1,018; total, £11,198. Under 
the Langstroth system the yield of honey 
would be about 200-lb. per hive, ' value. 
£10,967 ; wax, 1-lb. per hive, £254 ; total, 
£17,221. This showed the importance of the 
industry, and as no especial effort was made 
to collect signatures, those attached to the 
memorial did not represent one-half, of the 
hikes in the colony. The output of honey 
could be ti-ebled, as there were many most 
