406 ; QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Ocr., 1899. 
Apiculture. 
BEE-KEEPING. 
CHECKING SWARMING. 
Mr. Pavn H. L. Tarpenr, of Ormont’s Apiary, Roma, says on this subject :— 
As I have only kept bees for about five years, I do not assume any authority. 
I haye been successful in checking swarming by cutting out all queen-cells 
every eight days, by giving plenty of room, and in warm weather by raising the 
hive from the bottom board on 4-inch blocks. I prefer not to use queen- 
excluding honey-boards, as in a good honey flow the brood chamber often gets 
crowded, and the bees swarm for want of laying room. In a very good season 
some kind of a honey-board would probably be necessary to prevent top and 
bottom storeys getting waxed togethor. If I was buying frames to-morrow, I 
would only have Hoffmann’s or some other equally good self-spacing frames: 
no jarring and crushing of combs and bees when carrying bodies. about, also 
regular combs. I had a colony with two queens last year. J presume they 
were mother and daughter, as the oldest-looking (to me) was clipped. I, 
unfortunately, made no further note of the matter. I am afraid that many of 
us beekeepers meddle too much with our stocks in winter and early spring. I 
went to a lot of trouble with my bees this winter, but they do not seem to be 
as advanced as I should wish them to be. On the other hand, I purchased halt 
a dozen hives lately from a man who had not touched his bees at all this season. 
Taken on an average, they were in a far better condition than mine. We 
should see that each hive has a laying queen and 251b. or 30 lb. of stores in 
autumn, and then leave them alone, cosy, till the warm weather returns. 
Entrance feeders could be used to stimulate brood-rearing in early spring. 
Re marketing, I have so far only supplied local demands, but, in view of 
the future and of other bee-men, it would be interesting to know how the 
honey is got in France, Germany, &e. We are willing and anxious to learn 
(1 hope I am speaking for the majority). ‘Tin is certainly the cheapest and 
handiest package; glass the most attractive. The question of grading isa 
serious one. I think it almost impossible to obtain a uniform grade with our 
varied flora. Some attempt, however, should be made to eradicate the so-called 
Eucalyptus taint idea from the minds of the home public. Chili is one of our 
most formidable rivals in honey export, yet, unless I am much mstaken, 
apiculture is much more advanced in these colonies than there. 
Tropical Industries. 
THE WORLD'S COFFEE TRADE. 
INCREASING SUPPLIES AND FALLING PRICES. 
How to regulate the world’s supply of coffee, so as to prevent the unsettling 
of prices by the dumping of the “bouncer” crops of good years on the 
markets, is a problem (says the Me«iean Herald) that is occupying the attention 
of great dealers as well as of large producers. In food crops, as well as in 
fibre crops, the tendency is to larger annual yields in excess of the growth of 
the world’s population; hence the tendency to lower prices for these great 
staples of nourishment and clothing. Brazil is the great coffee-exporting 
country, and the history of the Brazilian trade begins at Rio Janeiro in 1817, 
when 68,986 bags were shipped. In 1832 the figures stood at 478,950 bags; in 
1840, 1,000,000 bags were reached; in 1851 the figures exceeded 2,000,000 
