4 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
ing a good beekeeper’s season for 1889-90. In a 
great many localities white clover has failed to 
produce much nectar this season, and in places 
scarcely a bee has been seen to visit the blossoms. 
This is rather unusual, except in very high lying 
districts, and we think must depend upon some 
peculiarity in the season. The same absence of 
nectar has been reported from various districts, 
and with respect to very many honey-producing 
plants, that as a rule are certain honey-producers. 
Fruit trees and meadow flowers, however, gave a 
fair return in most districts and a promise of a 
good early summer flow. It has been very disap- 
pointing to many beekeepers, who looked for a 
good honey harvest from their clover fields and 
plantations of bee flowers, to remark day after 
day and week after week, while the plants were 
heavily covered with blossoms, the most unusual 
absence of the merry hum of the bees among 
them. 
In October and November swarms of moths 
visited Victoria and New South Wales. The 
first-comers were day moths, often called butter- 
flies. but the heaviest plague was from night 
moths : the former only take nectar from the 
flowers in the day time, and all honey plants were 
swarmed with them. From New South Wales 
we hear of great losses to beekeepers, which are 
attributed to the total appropriation of the honey 
flow by these visitors. 
Feeding Bees.— Our friend Mr. Abram in his 
welcome letter in our last number takes us to 
task somewhat severely, and we beg to apologise 
if we made any mistake. When speaking of his 
advocacy for Berlepsch hives, we hope we did not 
convey the idea of doing so disparagingly. As 
regards feeding also, Mr. Abrams entirely dis- 
agrees with us and with other beekeepers who 
feed with syrup. We are afraid beekeepers will 
never all agree on this point, although Mr. Abram 
has some very good and cogent reasons on his 
side, and we quite agree with him that it is bad 
beekeeping to extract honey from stocks as fast as 
they store it to fill the honey tank and then feed 
the bees with syrup when the honey flow ceases. 
Such a proceeding is inexcusable. But if from 
other causes, such as bad seasons, weakness of 
stock, &c. , bees get short of food, they must be 
fed. We therefore quite agree that honey is best 
to give them if we can be sure it comes from a 
source free from infection ; if not, we say feed 
with syrup which you know has no infection. ; 
Suspected honey, or honey from diseased stocks, 
if boiled, will be as Mr. Abram says, be rendered 1 
safe and pure, but boiled honey is as nearly the 
same as properly made syrup as we can well 
imagine. 
(Eoraspontumcf. 
BEEKEEPING IN WEST AUSTRALIA. 
7'» the Editor of the Australian Bttkerpers’ 
Journal. 
— Thinking some news of beekeeping in 
Western Australia may interest some of your 
readers, I send you the following notes of my 
experience : — 
I commenced three years ago, buying a few 
| kerosene boxes with bees. The first season I 
I did yery well, had good increase and a good 
return in honey. I made my first hive after 
| the Langstroth pattern, bnt in January I found 
that as sure as I lifted a frame, the weight of 
honey caused the whole comb to tumble out. 
J I then thought I would try the English standard 
size, and have had no cause to complain. I 
can handle the comb with impunity, and never 
have breakages. The second season, 1888-89, I 
; started with 50 hives in standard frames, and 
expected a good harvest, but lo and behold the 
whole season passed away and no honey. The 
j various gums did not blossom, or if they did, it 
was so small as to be of no account whatever, 
j So the summer passed away and winter came, 
[ long, wet, cold, and very windy, and the 
result was 22 swarms died off, a result not very 
encouraging when one had expected to make a 
living out of the apiary. 
The spring has opened now about two months 
later than usual ; the bees have swarmed and 
bred something wonderful I have now 54 
hives in very good condition if only we have 
some seti led weather ; but here we are in 
December, and to-day is the fifth day of con- 
tinued cold, windy and cloudy days. I have 
an extractor foundation machine and other 
requisites for carrying on the work. I make all 
my hives, and have sold about sixty besides. 
So far foul brood has not troubled me nor any 
of the friends I have started beekeeping. I 
am working mostly with hybrids ; 1 find they 
are very good workers, though rather cross 
unless 1 give them a sufficiency of smoke before 
I open the hive. 
I only got three queens purely fertilized last 
year out of 23 that I raised, and that commenced 
laying. I raised a great number, but lost very 
many, which I blame to the maitins, as they are 
very plentiful here. 
I am hoping for a good season and a fair 
return, as 1 cannot keep on with the bees unless. 
1 must, before I close, say that I am exceedingly 
well pleased with your Australian Bee 
Journal, and wish you every success. Yours, 
faithfully, Robert Klrkmak. 
To the Editor of the Australian Beeheepcrs 
Journal. 
Dear Sir, — I am back again to my old 
place, and am starting beekeeping again on a 
small scale at first. I have bought a few hives 
in boxes. I let them swarm, hive them on 
shallow frames on the old stand, a la Heddon, 
cut drone Kood and queen cell out of the present 
hive, then bore a few holes with a centre bit 
through the top in the box, and also some in the 
same places through the floor board of the 
swarm, and then fix the parent hive under the 
swarm. In this way I have all the bees in one 
hive, and three weeks after swarming, when all 
