168 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
be plenty of honey for the bees to gather, 
from the middle of this month right up to 
the end of March, but unfortunately there is 
one great drawback, and that is that there 
will be very few bees left in this part to 
gather honey, as foul brood has been ex- 
tremely prevalent, and in most cases has just 
cleared the bees right out. I have the mis- 
fortune to have people keeping bees all round 
me, and I am sorry to say in anything but 
an intelligent way. One cannot tell most of 
them anything, as they know all about bee- 
keeping : “ Did not the most of them keep 
bees before I did, and therefore ought to 
know more than I could tell them.” I saw a 
man to-day, who at the beginning of this 
winter was the proud possessor of six frame 
hives. He used to keep bees in Germany. 
I said, “Well, Mr., how are the bees doing?” 
“Oh,” said he, “ they are nearly all dead ; 
your yellow bees stele all the honey they 
had, and they died from starvation.” I 
asked him to let me have a look at them. 
He did so, and it was just as 1 expected. 
They were one rotten mass, with foul brood, 
and out of the six colonies there was just about 
enough bees left in one hive to cover two 
frames ; the other hives were left on the 
stands, entrances open, just as if there were 
bees in them. For myself, I had to reduce 
from 40 colonies to 22. I had only two 
sound stocks out of that number ; but I am 
happy to say that now I have only one 
colony affected, and I will be able to clean 
that by requeening as soon as I have drones 
flying, which will be in about 14 or 15 days. 
This is my usual experience ; and as you well 
know, profitable beekeeping under these 
circumstances is an impossibility. I can 
most certainly cure the disease every time 
without the loss of a single comb ; but to 
what good when one has near neighbors who 
“keep” bees. 
SPRINGING BEES ON THE BLUE 
MOUNTAIN BEE FARMS. 
About the first of August in each year I go 
through all the hives in my farms. The 
objects are to note condition of the queen, 
amount of brood, amount of honey, and 
general state of hive. If the season is open- 
ing well, I will usually find about two frames 
of brood in each hive. I always work under 
a tent at this time of the year, to prevent 
robbers getting a start, as bees are always 
ready for that game in early spring. 
I leave my bees on ten frames, with plenty 
of honey all winter, and on opening in 
spring, the first thing is to find out where 
the brood nest is located ; when found it is 
put in the front of hive and division board 
put up, so as to crowd bees on to four combs. 
My frames run across the entrance, which is 
much the best way for several reasons. The 
hives are then left until middle of month, 
when, upon examination, the four frames 
will be found solid with brood. The empty 
combs from the back are now put in between 
each frame of brood, so that the queen will 
fill them with eggs, the division board must 
of course be moved back. The queen is now 
found, and one wing clipped — to do so earlier 
in the season would endanger her life ; all 
poor queens are weeded out, their places 
being supplied with queens from our nuclei 
hives. I am very particular about laying 
qualities of my queens, I get the very best 
imported stock I can, regardless of price, as 
in this more than anything else lies the 
secret of success in bee culture. All queens 
that do not come up to the standard as to 
amount of brood or gathering qualities of 
the workers, are cleared out at once. I do 
not j udge a queen at all by colour, as l have 
so often found the very light golden queens 
to be the greatest loafers in the farm, very 
gentle and very lazy. Do not on any account, 
if you want your bees to pay, keep a queen 
because she and her workers are very pretty ; 
there is a great temptation to do it, I know, 
but it does not pay. 
Major Shallard. 
Blue Mountain Bee Farms, 
Glenbrook. 
©oraspon&ence. 
To the Editor of the Australian Bee-Tfeepers ' 
Journal. 
Dear Sir, — I want a few hints. My bees 
have really never stopped working all the 
winter long , and now, what with early 
almond and peach blossom, Blue Gum, 
Wattle, Beans, and sundry other garden 
flowers, they are at it hot and heavy all day 
long. All the hives contain brood — new 
honey — some sealed, and some new comb. I 
left a fair amount of honey for winter, some 
of which is still untouched, so I suppose I 
may look for very early swarms next month. 
Now I am sorry to find a little foul brood in 
four of my hives. One had foul brood last 
year, and I gave it Muth’s treatment, minus 
the starvation, just at the close of the season, 
and fed them well. Now I find still some 
foul brood in this time, and it is rather weak 
in number of bees, and I am uncertain what 
is best to do with it, and also with the other 
foul brood hives, which are pretty strong. 
Should I transfer them to new hives and 
combs at once, and feed them, leaving the 
young brood to perish, or should I out ouc 
the foul cells, and dose well with salicilit 
