THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS' JOURNAL. 
56 
was presided over by Mr. Kelly, the Mayor. I 
think the lecture will induce several beekeepers to 
give more attention to their bees, but feel that this 
was the most unsatisfactory of all the lectures I 
have given. 
The last lecture was given at Jamestown, in the 
Institute, on the 19th October. There were 25 
people present, and Mr. Hillary Boucout, J.P.. 
occupied the chair. As usual a good deal of 
interest was taken in the lecture, and I was asked 
numerous questions relative to the practical man- 
agement of hives. At present Jamestown is not a 
good locality for bees, as the gum trees, which 
afford the chief source of honey, are young ; but 
there is no doubt that as these trees get older they 
will yield a much larger quantity of nectar. I 
visited two apiaries belonging respectively to Miss 
Trilling and Mr. William Haslam, and found 
that the bees were kept in frame hives, but the 
colonies were small. 
As this completed the tour that had been 
planned out for me, I returned to Adelaide by 
train on the 20th October. Throughout the trip 
I met with much kindness at all the towns visited. 
The following gentlemen were specially attentive 
to me. and took some considerable trouble in 
securing rooms and making arrangements for the 
lectures, namely : —Mr. Kennedy and Dr. Esau, 
Woodside ; Capt. Randell and Mr. J. Monfries, 
Gumeracha ; Mr. H. A. Giles, Mount Pleasant ; 
Mr. C. T. Collins, Wiliiamstown ; Mr. E. Salter, 
J.P. , Angaston ; Professor Lowrie, Roseworthy 
Agricultural College ; Mr. H. Beshell, Riverton ; 
the Rev. Yeatman, Auburn ; Mr. Reynolds. Clerk 
of the Court, Clare ; and Mr. William Haslam, 
Jamestown. 
During the first three weeks I drove from town 
to town with a horse and trap provided by the 
Surveyor-General, and in the last week I travelled 
by rail and mail coach. 
I have the honour to be, Sir, 
Your obedient servant, 
A. E. Bonney. 
From Garden and Field . 
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 
By Charles Dickins. 
I would strongly impress upon the beekeeper 
the necessity of increasing the number of bees in 
spring, in order to get surplus honey in the sec- 
tions, or the frames in the upper storeys used for 
extracting. This is to be done prior to the honey 
flow, or the season is lost. There is another 
point, however, to be watched very closely in 
order to secure desirable results, besides an 
increase of bees. The latter may be done, the 
surplus boxes filled with bees, combs started in 
all of them, and the apiarist thinks he is all right 
for an abundant crop. But alas ! in a few hours 
he finds his bees under the swarming impulse. 
Out come swarms, one after another, leaving their 
w r ork incompleted with but few bees to finish up 
the job Under these circumstances, many bee- 
keepers are at their wits' end. They know not 
what to do. It is to this point that I wish in this 
article to call attention. When the first swarm 
comes off, let it be put into a frame hive with 
whole sheets of comb foundation and set aside to 
work out its own salvation in drawing out the 
combs and rearing brood. When swarm No. 2 
comes off, let the hive No. 1 be examined for 
queen ceils, which will usually be found in all 
stages of maturity. These are all to be cut out. 
Then put swarm No. 2 into this hive, first giving 
both lots of bees a little smoke before uniting. 
They will soon become a powerful colony, capable 
of doing good work in filling section boxes or 
combs for extracting. If increase be not desired, 
this can be repeated again and again throughout 
the whole apiary. Surplus honey is thus obtained 
in great abundance which could not be otherwise 
secured. It is very easy and convenient, and the 
bees will generally work with the will that a new 
swarm manifests. All swarms in frame hives 
should be covered with enamelled quilts, and 
should be liberally fed until the combs are drawn 
out from the foundation. Confine the swarm by 
division boards to as many frames of foundation 
1 as it can cover — four to six — according to the 
size, and add more frames in the centre of the 
1 brood nest as required, every three or four days. 
A swarm will work with more energy when 
crowded together. A strong colony will require 
about ten standard Langstroth frames unless 
| supers be given as soon as eight frames are drawn 
out. Feeding swarms for the first few days is 
| most important. It is necessary that bees have a 
plentiful supply of water near the apiary. If it is 
given to them in pans, throw a few pieces of wood 
or corks split in half for floats, to prevent the 
bees being drowned. For want of this many 
perish in the search after water. It is advisable 
to mix a small teaspoonful of salt with every 
gallon of water. It is in fact necessary for 
feeding the young brood that they have a supply 
of salt in their food. — Alildura Cultivator . 
THE BEE INDUSTRY. 
“ Beekeeping in Australia ” was the subject of 
a lecture delivered by Mr. Angus Mackay to a 
large and attentive audience one evening last 
week. Mr. Mackay claimed for the study of bee 
economy that it was at once most fascinating, 
useful, and profitable. The bee offered great 
allurements for the study of insect life and 
economic natural history. Australia, he claimed 
further, has peculiar facilities for bee-keeping, 
and the quality of honey made was of the very 
first order. Honey, as an article of food, was not 
yet, amongst us. appreciated as it deserved ; but, 
now that really good honey could be got, its more 
general use was safe to follow. After an inte- 
resting description of bee life in the hive, and how 
observations can be made with safety and pleasure, 
a lengthy series of lantern pictures was brought 
into use, showing the anatomy of the bee, its 
mode of collecting stores, and the nature of its 
sting, which was described as “ one of the hottest 
things in nature for its size.” Then the wonderful 
economy of the inhabitants of the hive was 
described : their division of labour and wonderful 
industry. Analysis of the New South Wales 
