THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
21 
Houey ” in our own journal of June, and 
blames the beekeepers of Victoria for their 
appaieut supineness on the subject. From 
this article we should assume that this 
luxurious compound has not yet made its 
appearance in New Zealand, but the onward 
march Of commercial enterprise will scarcely 
miss the chance of a good corn syrup market 
among our Eastern brethren unless pure 
honey gets cheaper than it is. The writer 
blames the Victorian beekeepers for not 
accepting his offer, made some time ago, to 
examine samples if sent to him in New 
Zealand. But no examination was necessary. 
Beekeepers knew that spurious honey was 
being sold in Melbourne, but had no power 
to stop it, or do anything until it appeared 
labelled as honey. Then and only then 
could they take action, which they did at 
once, and that so effectively that nearly a 
ton of this jam factory honey was removed 
from a large retail store next day to the 
“ Home of the bogus honey bee,” the manu- 
facturer, and very soon it was difficult to buy 
a bottle of the new nectar, or to see one that 
was not divested of its label. 
Still, so long as there are unscrupulous 
manufacturers and ignorant purchasers, the 
trade will go until a good shocking example 
is found and someone heavily fined. All the 
beekeepers can do is to keep public attention 
constantly called to the true facts of the case, 
and educate consumers to discriminate 
between houey and its dishonest and un- 
wholesome imitations. 
A statement has been copied into nearly 
all the European bee papers respecting some 
honey obtained from a bee tree in Tasmania, 
and which was said to have a strong flavour 
of, and possess the same medicinal properties 
as, eucalyptus oil. Now, although experts 
can distinguish houey gathered from 
eucalyptus by its aroma and flavour, wo have 
never heard of any that tasted of eucalyptus 
oil, except when it has been artifically added, 
as is done with the patent jam factory orange 
flower, or lemon flower, or pure garden 
honey. It is highly probable, therefore, that 
some of the produce of the bogus bee has got 
into the European market. This seems 
more probable, as one of the English bee 
journals speaks of honey •* with a strong 
flavour of eucalyptus oil ” as having come 
from Australia. 
for this purpose, such as calico, hessian, and 
other kind of baggiug cloth, matting of 
various kinds, and so on. Many American 
and English beekeepers use enamel cloth or 
“ American leather,” as it is sometimes 
called. We tried it some time ago over a 
weak colony, which afterwards died out with 
dysentry. The loss was attributed to the 
enamel eloth cover, which is impervious to 
moisture, and which becomes quite wet from 
the deposit of moisture within the hive, and 
so we discarded this material. 
In the account of the South Australian 
Beekeepers Association, given in our last 
number, we find Mr. Bouney, the talented 
and well-known Adelaide apiculturist, stating 
as follows: — “A piece of enamel cloth to 
cover the frames completes the hive.” 
We wrote to Mr. Bonney on the subject, 
asking certain questions on the subject, 
stating our objections to the material, and 
giving our experience of its use. Mr. Bonney 
replied as follows : — “ I may say I do not 
know of any material equal to enamel cloth 
for covering the frames of a bee hive duriug 
the working season., i.e., from after swarm- 
ing till the end of summer, but 1 would not 
think of using it in winter, having found, as 
you have done, that in cold, wet weather, it 
causes dysentery. In winter 1 cover the 
frames with several thicknesses of newspaper, 
and find that this answers very well. 
Formerly I used pieces of flour bagging, but 
now prefer the newspapers. I cut the 
enamel cloth the full size of the inside of the 
hive, and use it with the enamel side down- 
wards. In some colonies the bees will eat 
away the edges of the cloth where they 
droop over the two outside combs, and it is 
then necessary to use wider cloth so that it 
will rest on the side of the hive. I always 
use enamel cloth over supers, and think it 
most important. For summer use I like the 
cloth : it is so easily cleaned, and lies nice 
and flat on the frames. In winter, what- 
ever material is used to cover the frames, I 
always allow an air space of at least f of an 
inch between the frames and the cover.” 
We have used the enamel cloth on some 
of our hives since the breeding season has 
well set in, and so far appears to be all that 
can be desired. If the enamel side is up, the 
cover gets very damp, but it cannot do so if 
the enamel side lies on the frames. 
mats for covering frames, ^rom&ings of Uiffkrrpfrs 
Mats or squares of some kind of cloth are Jlssonntions. 
nearly always placed outlie tops of frames 
ui hives, both as a means of keeping bees on i Victorias Bekkeepews’ Association. — A 
the frames ns well as for maintaining j meeting of this association was held on Monday 
Warmth. Various kinds of material is used * evening, the tilth of September, at l'nblic Ser- 
