Bees and Poultry.

And now a word about bees and poultry. Colonial farmers, as a rule are singularly neglectful of such comparatively small things, and yet very considerable sums may be realised from these sources. It would not pay to employ extraneous labour for such purposes, but the occupation is a light and an interesting one, especially the manipulation of bees. It is an occupation singularly adapted for women and young persons. The American farmers make these industries quite a feature, realising large sums of money in the aggregate, whilst in New Zealand they are almost entirely neglected. The fact is, we have yet to learn the value of small things, which, after all, are just the things which make life in the country one of the happiest of all existences.

I know a young man who works in an office in Christchurch, and who lives on the outskirts, located on about three acres of land. His wife keeps a set of fowls from which she netted a clear profit of 10s. per head last year. The fowls are properly attended to, and she knows exactly what it costs to feed them. It may be said that the markets would soon be overdone. It would take a long time to effect this.

There is a large and increasing demand for the supply of our local and ocean steamers and vessels. When these sources became exhausted, we could ship to the Home market. One thing, however, must be remembered, and that is, that fowls require much attention and intelligent management. These conditions secured, there are few small things which pay better.