76 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



gation wlieii coining from jniotliei' State. This is a common iulet by 

 which some of the worst of onr diseases are introduced into our 

 orchards and we should guard against it with an eagle eye. 



Do you realize, friends, that the annual loss of fruit throughout the 

 counlry, due to insects and diseases, is ahout 20^r of the total produc- 

 tion? That in California in the years around 1908, that five million 

 dollars worth of Bartlett Pear orchards were lost, due to Pear Bliyhtf 

 This is only one State but it gives an idea of the great loss by such 

 diseases. In some of the minor fruit districts of our own State, ai>]»le 

 orchards are being swept out by scale which is one of our easiest enemies 

 to conquer, yet no hand is raised and the farmer loses his orchard. 



In closing, I would like to appeal to every fruit grower in the State, 

 whether he is a large or small producer, to aid in the attempt to raise 

 Michigan several points higher in her standing as a horticultural State, 

 to sux^h a position that we will be ]>roud to say, we are from Michigan, 

 the State which produces perfect fruit. 



"SHOULD THE HOKTICHLTUIMST KIOEr BEES?" 



RALPH W. I'ETERSON, BARD^ CALL 



Lai'ge orchards and vinej^ards are the work of man and therefore, de- 

 mand a correspondingly artificial condition in insect life to secure 

 pollination. We should not overlook the fact that the real mission of 

 the lioney bee after all is not honey production but rather the prov)er 

 l»ollination of our fruit blossoms. For countless ages, these flowers re- 

 quiring insect pollination have painted their ])etals various hues and 

 shed on the atmosphere their ])erfume, to advertise to the bee world 

 that they had pollen and nectar to pay the bee for the service of ]»(dlina- 

 tion. Horticulture and bee culture must always go hand in hand for 

 no heea means no fruit. 



Three years ago, Professor Sears, of Massachusetts, noticed a couple 

 of acres of peach trees that blossomed very full but failed to set any 

 fruit. The following spring bees were ]>lace(l in the center of the 

 orchard and the crop was increased 4,800 baskets. Our dependence upon 

 bees, is further shown by experiments carried on at Geneva, New York. 

 Two thousand four hundred eight}" apple blossoms were protected from 

 bees during the blooming period. The resulting crop consisted of one 

 lone api)le. Likewise, many of our grapes, most of our plums and all 

 of our commercial varieties of the sweet cherry will bear fruit onlf 

 when bees are present. An Oregon fruit grower reports an increase 

 of 50,000 pounds annually in his cherry crop after bees w^ere placed in 

 the orchard. 



The efficiency of Ihe honey bee is indicated by a simple exi)erinient in 

 which I found that an average hive of honey bees on a sunny day in 

 spring would visit more than five ihillion flowers. The significance of 

 the statement is realized when we remember that most of the native 



