November, ipip 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 9 



Bees An Invaluable Aid to the Orchardist 



By George W. York, Spokane, Washington 



IT was with considerable interest that 

 I read the following paragraphic note 

 in the September Better Fbuit: 



"Lack of pollenization is reported by E. B. 

 Kelly, horticultural inspector with the Wash- 

 ington department of agriculture, to be the 

 cause of a big loss in the apple crop in the 

 Inland Empire. Mr. Kelly says that orchard- 

 ists in this district must pay more attention 

 to the raising of bees, cither with or without 

 regard to the value of the honey they make." 



It was my whole business for over a 

 quarter of a century to advance the 

 interests of beekeepers, as editor and 

 publisher of the American Bee Journal, 

 a publication devoted exclusively to 

 beekeeping. During all those years it 

 frequently came to my attention, through 

 reports from beekeepers who also were 

 fruit growers, that bees were exceed- 

 ingly valuable as pollinators in the 

 orchards. While most people seem to 

 regard the little busy bee's work as a 

 honey-producer as being the most im- 

 portant object of its existence, it may 

 yet be shown that its value as a pollen- 

 izer of fruit is far and away more 

 valuable to mankind than is its sweet 

 product — honey. 



So when I read the suggestion by 

 Horticultural Inspector Kelly it came 

 to me with great force. I was reminded 

 that just recently a wise orchardist in 

 the Yakima Valley has already arranged 

 with a local beekeeper to place his 

 hives of bees in his (the fruit grower's) 

 orchard next spring, for the sole pur- 

 pose of aiding in a more thorough pol- 

 lenization of the fruit blossoms, and for 

 this work he has agreed to pay the bee- 

 keeper five dollars per hive, regardless 

 of the amount of honey the bees may 

 produce while thus located. 



But one unfortunate thing about the 

 keeping of bees in or near the orchards 

 in the Yakima Valley, and doubtless 

 elsewhere as well, is the poisoning of 

 bees through the spray material that 

 drips off the trees on the alfalfa blos- 

 soms found under the fruit trees. 



\Miile recently in Yakima, and talk- 

 ing with some of the beekeepers there, 

 they thought it would be possible to 

 mix something in the spray material 

 that would be offensive to the bees, so 

 they would not visit the blossoms that 

 had caught the spray. But another bee- 

 keeper and orchardist from the same 



valley, who is exceedingly well in- 

 formed, felt that mixing the offensive 

 material in with the sprays would not 

 accomplish the desired object, as the 

 bees work on such sprayed blossoms 

 only when there is a dearth of nectar 

 elsewhere, and so he thought nothing 

 could be used to prevent them working 

 on such blossoms when they were 

 forced to visit them in the absence of 

 other bloom or feed. He was of the 

 opinion that it would be necessary to 

 enact a law compelling the orchardists 

 to cut the blooming alfalfa from be- 

 neath the trees for hay, just before 

 spraying, and thus remove the attrac- 

 tion that drew the bees to their death. 



Surely the orchardists will be glad to 

 do anything within their power to pre- 

 serve the work of the bees, for they are 

 rapidly realizing that without the full 

 aid of the bees they could not possibly 

 hope to harvest the large fruit crops 

 that they would otherwise secure. 



It is surprising, and also exceedingly 

 interesting, to note how closely allied 

 are the efforts of both the human and 

 the animal in this instance. Through 

 the work of the orchardist and the bees 

 not only is a better and larger crop of 

 fruit produced, but also an increased 

 return in the way of a honey harvest. 

 The results of harmonious cooperation 

 are almost perfect in this case. Hence 

 it behooves the fruit growers every- 

 where to encourage the keeping of bees 

 within easy flight of their orchards. 

 There should be the utmost sympathy 

 and cooperation between the fruit grow- 

 ers and the beekeepers, when their in- 

 terests are so clearly and exceptionally 

 one. 



I believe a thorough discussion of this 

 subject would be of value to all con- 

 cerned. There must be ample evidence 

 scattered around in very many locali- 

 ties which if assembled would help to 

 bring into closer relation the interests 

 of both beekeepers and orchardists. 

 More and more we are all coming to 

 appreciate the truth of the utterance 

 that "no man liveth unto himself." Our 

 interests and our hopes are mutual. 

 Only by the heartiest cooperation of all 

 the allied lines of endeavor can we hope 

 to make the progress that all concerned 

 so enthusiastically desire. 



HighRoad to Appleland as Seen by New Yorker 



By Slyvanus Van Aken 



THE phenomenal growth of the fruit 

 industry in the country during the 

 past few years has not alone been due to 

 improved business methods of packing 

 and marketing. Nor has it been due to 

 cool nights, the warm days and the 

 amoinit and intensity of the sunshine. 

 Other factors have been instrumental in 

 promoting this rapid advancement. The 

 growers have, first, exercised care in se- 

 lecting varieties best adapted to their 

 localities; secondly, they have paid par- 

 ticular attention to the types of soil 

 best adapted to these varieties; thirdly, 

 they used judgment when selecting the 



proper location as regards site, slope, 

 irrigation, transportation, etc., and last- 

 ly, they were careful in planting. \Mien 

 it comes to planting a commercial orch- 

 ard the prospective grower should thus 

 make haste slowly. Mistakes made in 

 fruit growing are often irreparable. It 

 is my purpose to give such advice as the 

 progressive growers in this section 

 liave, by common experience, demon- 

 strated to be practical and useful. 



Locate Right — Orchards Can't Move. 



The proper selection of a site is vital 

 to successful orcharding. Faulty selec- 

 tions have not infrequently been made 



BEST SERVICE- 

 QUALITY ia PRICES 



PERFECTION IN 



FRUIT 

 ULABELS 



mmom 



1423-24 NORTHWESTERN BANK 

 PORTLANO.ORECON. 



E.Shelley Morgan 



NORTH WESTERN MANA GER 



WE CARRY-AND CAN SHIP tN 24 

 HOURS-STOCK LABELS FOR PEARS,^ 

 APPLES.CHERRIES 8 STRAWBERRIES. 



by growers or speculators, and the re- 

 sult has been failure. When choice is 

 permitted, the orchard should be on a 

 more elevated spot than the surround- 

 ing country. This insures good air 

 drainage, as well as good soil drainage. 

 As cold air settles to the lower levels, 

 low places are more subject to frost; 

 hence, low-lying basins or pockets or 

 practically level places should be 

 avoided. 



Careful attention should also be given 

 to the selection of suitable slope. In the 

 Hudson River Valley, owing to the high 

 slope on both sides of the river, such 

 sites have proven ideal fruit sections, 

 for the following reasons: First, the 

 soils do not become warm until late in 

 the spring and this retards the blossom- 

 ing period; second, a better protection 

 from the prevailing winds can be had; 

 third, the soils are usually deeper and 

 richer. These conditions apply more 

 specifically to sections having a long 

 growing season. Where the growing 

 season is short, a southern exposure 

 may be preferred, as the larger amount 

 of sunshine brings about an earlier 

 ripening of the fruit. Higher color is 

 sometimes obtained from southern 

 slopes. 



Soil and Water. 



As regards soils, light loamy soils 

 with deep and porous sub-soils are, gen- 

 eially speaking, best adapted to the 

 growing of the apple. As the character 

 of the soil influences to a certain extent 

 the character and quantity of the prod- 

 uct, the grower should keep in mind 

 this fact when locating the fruit planta- 



