TH1 
Bustraltan beekeepers' 
JOURNAL, 
Vol. III. — No. <;.] APRI 
(B tutorial. 
HINTS FOR MAY. 
The continued dry weather in the more southern 
parts ot Australia has very much diminished the 
autumn honey harvest, and in many localities 
the bees, instead of filling up their unfinished 
sections and nearly empty frames, have looked 
about for chances of getting “ other people's 
honey.’’ with the result that in many apiaries half 
the stocks will not have enough store to carry 
them well through the winter months. 
During May, at latest, therefore, a careful 
examination of all hives should be made, and 
such as have r.ot ample provision should be fed 
quickly with honey, or. if that is not available 
from a trustworthy source, with syrup made as 
already directed in this Journal, but with 2^ lbs 
of sugar instead of 2 lbs to each pint of water, not 
forgetting the tartaric acid, and boiling for 10 
minutes to a quarter of an hour. 
A a rule, hives will now be less populous than 
in the busy season, for the losses by death of old 
bees are not so fully made up by the hatching of 
young ones as earlier, if, therefore, it is found that 
the frames are only thinly covered with bees, or 
that some are well covered, while others are 
occupied by a few stragglers only, a division board 
should be inserted so as to reduce the space to be 
occupied to four, live or six frames, and placing 
the empty or nearly empty frames on the other 
side of the division board, or remove them from 
the hive altogether and place them in some safe 
place away from mice and ants ready for use next 
spring ; but we find it just .as well to keep them 
in the hive. By adopting this course we keep the 
bees together more, more warmth is maintained, 
and the queen is more likely to continue laying 
close up to the very cold weather than if the bees 
straggled over a hive full of empty combs. Now 
about covering liees up for winter ; although 
enamel cloth has been found admirable through 
the summer, we advise changing it now for a 
more absorbent and pervious material. Taking 
as a guide the experience we mentioned in our 
j, 1 S 89 . [Price Gd. 
last number (page 68), that the bees persistently 
lifted up the enamel covers about % inch above 
the frames by numerous little pillars of wax, so as 
to secure a free communication over the top bars, 
we advise slatted honey boards, with tin or 
wooden strips at the end that will raise it say % 
of an inch above the frames, over which must be 
placed the mats of canvas, bagging, or other 
material, which should be sufficiently thick to 
keep the brood nest quite warm. With a free 
passage over the Lop bars the bees are much more 
contented and do not bile the mats away so much 
as when they lie close on the frames. Of course 
weak stocks should be united to stronger ones, 
and queenless colonies to others having a queen, 
but it must be remembered that uniting is not so 
simple a matter at this season as during a honey 
flow. By first thoroughly smoking both hives, 
and if they have little or no honey spraying them 
freely with honey or water before uniting, then 
placing the frames of one hive alternately with 
those of the hive to be retained, and finally, 
smoking liberally, success can generally be attained 
without any fighting, but if fighting is commenced 
a free use of the smoker, repeated as long as 
fighting is seen, will generally settle matters. It 
is very probable the chloroform method described 
in onr last number (page 72) should be found 
useful and safe in uniting stocks so late in the 
season. If either of the stocks possesses a 
valuable queen it will be well to cage her till 
everything is quiet in the united stock, indeed if 
queens are scarce it will be safest to do this in 
every case. It will also be well to clear away 
from the lop of the frames any pieces of comb or 
lumps of propolis, ami to look carefully for foul 
brood, for although it will be loo late to adopt 
the method we have advocated for its treatment, 
a certain help is given to the stock by removal of 
any frames containing foul brood or dead larva;, 
and feeding with syrup pretty freely, for very 
little breeding goes on in the winter months, and 
the disease does not therefore increase ; im- 
mediately breeding commences in the spring, 
however, the bees must be transferred to a new 
hive with new clean frames as recommended. If, 
