148 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
ways, the best, however, we think is, make 
the syrup of 8-lbs. of sugar, 3 pints of water, 
and a quarter of an ounce of tartaric acid — 
bring it to the boil, keeping it stirred, and 
continue the boiling for 10 minutes. After 
this the sugar will not crystallise out of the 
syrup. 
INTERCOLONIAL BEE NEWS. 
Nbw Zealand. — The Australasian Bee 
Journal for March has come to hand, and is 
full of interesting matter. A meeting of those 
interested in Ajiculture was called together 
at a meeting in Auckland for the 7th of March, 
when it is hoped that the old New Zealand 
Beekeepers’ Association will be resuscitated. 
Among the correspondence is the following 
letter, giving an account of an experience with 
“ Grimshaw’s Apifuge” in manipulating bees, 
which will, no doubt, be interesting to our 
readers, 
<i — You will probably recollect that my 
friend, Gapt. Armstrong, obtained from your 
firm some short time since a bottle of Grim- 
shaw’s Apifuge. I wish now to give yourself 
aud the readers of the Journal an account of 
his and my own experience of the use of it. 
Yesterday I paid Gapt. Armstrong a visit, and, 
as usual, I had a look at his bees, but before 
doing so he reminded me that he had the 
Apifuge, and requested me to try it, stating 
that lie had already tried it himself on two or 
three occasions and found it an unqualified 
success. Following the directions on the 
bottle I rubbed a drop or two over my bands, 
and being determined to give it a thorough 
test, I commenced to manipulate a hive con- 
taining a strong colony without smoke or veil. 
Removing the cover and tearing off the mat 
in a rough manner, calculated to irritate the 
most docile bees, the inmites of the hive 
came “boiling” up over the tops of the frames 
and elevating their business ends ready to 
wreak vengeance on the intruder. But before 
they had time to make up their minds to 
begin the attack down went my hands among 
them, and, as though by some magic influence, 
their threatening attitude seemed to be 
instantly changed fo one of the greatest 
repect, apparently knowing that they were 
in the presence of a power greater than their 
own, and so far from making even the 
slightest attempt to sting, the bees appeared 
anxious to get as far away from me as they 
could. Without the least ceremony or care, 
with regard to jarring the hive, I removed 
frame after frame, and purposely did all I 
could to irritate the bees, but not one sting | 
did I o-et, though I am certain had it not been 
for the Apifuge I should have been stung 
unmercifully I manipulated another colony 
much in the same manner and with the same 
good results. 
The effect of the Apifuge upon the bees is i 
most marvellous, in fact, without personal 
experience of it, I could scarcely have credited ] 
that anything could have subdued them so 
quickly and completely. My opinion is that 
when it comes to be better known you will 
have a very large sale for it. I am told that 
it is equally as effective in keeping off mos- 
quitoes, and I know of one person who is 
using it on bis horses to keep the flies off 
their ears and nostrils. So very little is 
needed for use at the time that a bottle will 
last for a long period. — Tours, etc , 
O. POOLE. 
January 10, 1888. 
[The Apifuge is indeed a wonderful prepara- 
tion in its effects upon insects. The ingredients 
appear to be rather expensive, but as no more 
than a drop or two is needed for rubbing over 
the hands a bottle of it will last with care for 
two seasons. With this at our command we 
need not fear Cyprians nor the most vicious 
Hybrids. Our stock was small, it being only 
a trial lot, but we shall keep a large stock on 
hand in the near future, when we hope to be 
able to reduce the price considerably. — E d.] 
♦ 
HONEY FROM THE PRICKLY BOX. 
We have been favored by Mr. F. Price, of 
Narracoorte, with a very peculiar sample of 
honey, which he tells us was gathered by the 
bees solely from the prickly box or Busaria 
Spinosa . This tree is found in many parts of 
the country, and is called indiscriminately 
prickly box, or native box ; it blossoms freely 
in January, and although we have noticed 
very few bees about these trees in the vicinity 
of Melbourne, there is no doubt they would he 
freely visited where other foliage is scarce. 
Mr. Price, in reply to our query as to the 
source of this sample of honey, writes : — 
“ Your letter to hand re sample of honey sent 
to Mr. Kitchen. It was gathered solely from 
i the prickly bush, or native box, or prickly 
: box, the tree bears all these three vernacular 
names. the botanical name is Busaria 
j Spinosa. 1 may state that I am not at all 
mistaken as to the source of the honey, as 
during January the Busaria Spinosa was the 
only native tree in blossom, and I had every 
opportunity of ascertaining where the bees 
were foraging, as a thick scrub of it grows 
only a quarter of a mile away, and I was 
extracting every week.” 
The honey itself was bright and clear, had 
a marked odor of the bitter almond kind, 
and a most disagreeable, acrid taste. It was 
quite unfitted for table use, although useful 
for feeding bees in winter, and perhaps for 
making mead or other honey drinks. This 
information regarding one of our freely 
flowering native trees is valuable, and of the 
kind we are very desirous of getting. We 
want to be quite sure of what plants supply 
good saleable honey, and the plants that pro- 
duce honey unfitted for the table, or that 
would deteriorate other honey if mixed with 
it. We are, therefore, much indebted to Mr. 
Prico for his kind communication. 
