166 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
Hunter River District. 
A correspondent writes : “ This is a great 
honey season in this (the Hunter River) 
district, at least, so far as the bush is con- 
cerned, there has scarcely, if ever, been a 
better. As an instance, I will give Mr. 
Vogel’s experience at Paterson. He started 
this season with two good colonies, three fair 
ones, and twelve others, little better than 
nuclei , which he had to build up. He has 
now increased to about 70 colonies, and nearly 
a month ago (early in March) had extracted 
about 5000-lbs. of honey, and had had 700 sec- 
tions filled. Others have had a similar ex- 
perience ; and as the honey-flow appears as if 
it will last throughout the Winter, a lot more 
honey is expected. 
Sinole Dahlias — Eucalyptus Oblioua. 
A contributor informs us that bees are 
literally swarming on his single dahlias. 
These flowers furnish abundance of pollen, 
ami probably some honey. From the same 
gentleman we learn that the Eucalyptus 
Obliqua is a grand bee tree, for he saw these 
gums in bloom on the Pyrenees, and actually 
alive with bees. The Eucalypts in the 
Northern and Western districts are flowering 
freely this month (April), and should the 
weather continue warm will yield abundance 
of late honey. 
Correspondence. 
No. 57. — Early last Spring a friend kindly 
lent me one of Root’s works to study, 
aud so “ put a bee in my bonnet,” and having 
nine box hives I went in for the Langstroth’s, 
increased to 24 during the season (11 of which 
have supers on), besides a hive of Italians, the 
nucleus of which I got from Mr. Chambers, of 
Franklin Street. All are doing splendidly, but 
the progeny of the Italians are sure to be 
very much hybridised, as the trees contain 
any number of Black swarms ; that grand 
preceptress, “ Dame Nature,” thus teaching ns 
that this Casterton neighborhood is a grand 
one for bees. 
Now, for my first experience in putting a 
swarm into a frame hive : 
Having drummed the bees into an empty : 
box, and shaken them amongst the frames, I ' 
took the full one, in which very few odd bees 
were left, and put it in an empty store room 
above the kitchen, against the flue, for 
warmth, so as to hatch out the young brood (I 
got the wrinkle from either Root or Cook), 
which would then be added to the original 
stock. Judge to my surprise when two 
days after I found the whole swarm in 
their old box, and the frame hive empty. The 
windows had, of course, been left full open, 
and the distance from the hive to the kitchen 
is fully 300 yards. Not to be beaten I trans- 
ferred putting the brood into the frames, but 
must have killed the queen in so doing, as I 
could not find her. I then placed them out 
in the garden, but, facilis descensus , they 
began to dwindle away, when after about 10 
days (surprise No. 2) a new swarm in the 
hive, overcrowding the division board, and on 
friendly terms with those they had annexed 
themselves to. Now, how do you diagnose 
the case ? Where was the Queen in the first 
instance ? I feel sure she was amongst those 
I shook into the frames. 
The bees are storing fast just now, princi- 
pally from the peppermint gum (E. Amy- 
g datum), they are very thick too on the ivy, 
also fallen pears, &c. We have any amount 
of thistle (cardu its) in the Summer. In 
January I found the pyramid tree ( Fugosia 
Pattersonii) splendid bee forage, and of course 
sunflowers in January and February. 
The cold weather lately kept the bees at 
home a good deal, but they have given me 
nearly seventy sections already. 
" So work the honey bees. 
Creatures that by a ruling nature teach 
The art of order to a peopled kingdom.” 
— Shakespeare. 
Yours truly, 
Nanhula. 
-*• 
THE NECESSARY CAPITAL REQUIRED 
TO START AN APIARY OF FIFTY 
HIVES. 
No. 58-Given a good locality and some previous 
perience of beekeeping under modern rules, what 
amount of capital is required to commence bee- 
keeping, with the hope of an immediate return 
for labor and investment P Leaving out the 
question of house residence, which may be com- 
puted as a debit against net profit, in the shape 
of rent, as personal expenses, I will deal with 
the necessities of the bee-yard only. 
The. value of the bees, either in possession, or 
to be purchased, maybe stated in either of two 
ways— either as 50 swarms, or a less quantity, 
computed to increase to 50 in spring. For con- 
venience, the former may be stated. 
A good swarm of bees may generally be 
considered value for 10s., therefore, 50 for 
£25 ; necessary hives for 50 at 10s., £25 ; 
extractors, section-boxes, smokers and sundries, 
£10; incidental expenses, £10; comb founda- 
tion, £5. But as it is necessary to have spare 
hives, supering arrangements, and all necessary 
appliances for marketing honey, fully another 
£25 will be required before any return may be 
expected, or at least should he available. This 
brings up a capital expenditure of £100, as repre- 
senting the first year’s requirements. 
With a moderate yield of honey, a ton will 
i probably be taken— the Apiarist having an eye 
! to increase of stock following season to 100 - 
Valuing this honey on the spot at £40, this sum 
will represent profit on labor for the year. 
The following spring requires say 60 more 
hives, £30; comb foundation, £10; supering, £10 
s und>ies, £10. Total, £60. Against which may 
