THE 
Buetraltan Beekeepers' 
JOURNAL, 
Yol. III.— No. 8.] JUNE, 1889. [Price 6d. 
(6£)itarial. 
HINTS FOR JULY. 
This month, in the Southern parts of Australia, 
is generally the Coldest, and the one, therefore, in 
which bees are nearer hybernation than at any 
other part of the year ; they are, in fact, having 
their true winter rest. This being the case, bees 
should seldom be disturbed in July, except upon 
the greatest emergency, such as lack of food and 
threatened starvation ; such a contingency, how- 
ever, will seldom occur with the careful beekeeper, 
for, during May at latest, he will have seen that 
every one of his stocks has been provided with 
ample stores for the winter, for feeding in July, in 
the colder parts of Australia, must be carefully 
managed to be successful. In the warmer and 
sub-tropical districts, bees gather honey even in 
July and August, and often commence breeding 
before the latter month is over. If hives are kept 
on the ground, care must be taken to remove any 
growth of weeds or grass from round about the 
bottom boards, and also that bottom boards are 
free from damp, or trouble will come with spring- 
time. American beekeepers advocate placing 
hives on the ground, and a good many in Australia 
do the same, chiefly, we believe, because it is 
cheaper than placing them on stands, and partly 
because of a belief that an alighting board resting 
on the ground enables many a tired and faljen bee 
to creep into the hive. I or our part, W'e prefer 
our hives some inches at least above the ground ; 
first, because the bottom boards are kept dry ; 
second, because the bees are kept free from the 
annoyance of ants and other insects; and, 3rd, 
because it seems more in accordance with the 
natural habit of the bee not to take up its domicile 
near the ground. We have many a time watched 
heavily-laden and tired bees fall short of the 
entrance of hives placed on the ground, but have 
seldom seen any crawl in unless they have fallen 
on the alighting board itself; but, alter resting, 
they nearly always rise again on the wing and fly 
for the entrance. We do not think, therelore, 
that any more bees are lost if the hive is 20 feet 
above than if it were on the ground. The best 
height, we consider, is that which gives the 
greatest facility for manipulating the frames in a 
standing position, say with bottom board from 
8 to 16 inches above the ground. 
With July comes the necessity of looking out for 
the coming season’s requirements, and hives and 
frames got ready — old ones cleaned and re-painted, 
feeders prepared for spring feeding, frames and 
combs put away for the spring, examined to see 
they are free from marauders or mildew ; there 
will be no fear of the latter if they have been kept 
in a well-ventilated place. We have found it a 
good plan to wrap both frames of comb and un- 
finished sections neatly in clean newspaper, and 
putting them away on a dry shelf in a well- 
ventilated room, unless mice are about, for if 
these marauders once taste the comb they will 
soon spoil the whole stock. Hives that are kept 
in the open without a shed should be examined 
externally from lime to time during the winter 
months, to see that the roofs are water and 
weather tight, and any defects in this direction 
should be at once remedied. 
COMB FOUNDATION. 
On page 110, of No. 7, we gave a brief note 
on comb foundation, and as we have received a 
good many questions about kinds, qualities, and 
colour of this material, as well as concerning 
best methods of fixing it to frames or in section 
boxes, cutting to size, Ac., we propose to go 
thoroughly into the subject for the benefit of 
our querists and such others of our readers who 
are not fully acquainted with the subject. 
Comb foundation is made from pure beeswax, 
cither by pressure between plates or by rolling 
between embossed rollers, and many beekeepers 
now make their own foundation. The roller 
method is the one chiefly used in Australia. 
The wax is melted over water in a deep vessel, 
and thin boards first soaked in water are dipped 
into the melted wax once or twice or even three 
times, according to the thickness of the sheet 
required. When cool a sheet comes off each 
