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BETTER FRUIT 



Does Fruit Tree Spray Injure or Kill Bees 



From the American Bee Journal 



SEVERAL letters have come to my 

 desk of late, says the editor of the 

 American Bee Journal, which have to 

 do with the poisoning of bees from the 

 spraying of fruit trees while in bloom. 

 In New Mexico it seems that a bill is 

 pending in the legislature which pro- 

 vides a penalty for the application of 

 spray poisons to the fruit trees before 

 90 per cent of the blossoms have fallen. 

 A few states have passed similar laws 

 and several others, after considering 

 such measures, have refused to enact 

 them. 



At one time I used my influence for 

 the passage of such a bill in Iowa, 

 although I must confess that I was not 

 enthusiastically in favor of it. Since 

 that time I have investigated the matter 

 somewhat and now doubt whether such 

 laws are desirable. Here in America 

 we have come to look upon "laws" as 

 the cure for every ill. Every day we 

 hear somebody say that there should 

 be a law passed prohibiting this or that. 

 Perhaps we will learn in time that the 

 mere passage of a law does not always 

 remedy our troubles. 



In the case of spraying, so many bee- 

 keepers report the loss of bees from the 

 spraying of fruit trees while in bloom 

 that there must be some cause for com- 

 plaint. However, it seems to me, after 

 looking into the thing, that a law is not 

 the proper remedy . In the first place, 

 the passage of such a law is resented by 

 the fruit growers as being aimed espe- 

 cially at them. Instead of developing 

 harmonious action it has the opposite 

 effect. The interests of the fruit grower 

 and of the beekeeper are mutual. It is 

 recognized that bees are necessary to 



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WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRUIT 



insure proper pollenization of fruit 

 blossoms. It is also taught by most en- 

 tomologists and horticulturists that the 

 best time to spray is after the petals 

 have fallen. Not only may the bees be 

 poisoned, but the fertilization of the 

 blossoms may be retarded or to some 

 extent prevented by spraying before 

 that time. 



This being the case, what we need is 

 not a law punishing the man who re- 

 duces his own crop and kills his neigh- 

 bor's bees by improper spraying, but an 

 educational campaign to give proper 

 instruction in the application of the 

 poison. 



The fruit growers are as anxious to 

 teach the mass of small orchardists to 

 use spraying materials as the beekeep- 

 ers are to induce every bee man to treat 

 foulbrood. The enactment of a law 

 prohibiting spraying at any time may 

 easily discourage its being done at all. 

 In this case the fruit business has been 

 injured. 



There are few fruit growers, progres- 

 sive enough to spray their fruit trees, 

 who will be purposely disposed to in- 

 jure the bees on which they are depend- 

 ent as an agency in the fertilization 

 of their fruit. Instead of trying to force 

 through a law against spraying while 

 the trees are in bloom, the bee men and 

 fruit growers should meet and agree 

 upon a campaign of education in dis- 

 tricts where spraying is improperly 

 done. Such a campaign will result in 

 great benefit to both the fruit grower 

 and the beekeeper, and should leave 

 both with the best of feelings toward 

 each other. 



When, as sometimes happens, the 

 legislative committees ask for definite 

 proof of the injury to bees from this 

 cause, the beekeepers find it difficult to 

 prove their case. Our senior editor 

 once served as a member of an Illinois 

 delegation to appear in behalf of such 

 a measure. The chairman of the legis- 

 lative committee was an extensive 

 orchardist, who seemed disposed to be 

 very fair in the matter . He asked for 

 proof of injury to the beekeeper, and 

 when an attempt was made to furnish 

 specific cases which could be laid to 

 this cause the beekeepers were unable 

 to find them. We are a little in the 

 dark as to just how much the bees are 

 injured from this cause and here is a 

 place where our experiment stations 

 can render some real service to both 

 fruit growers and beekeepers by mak- 

 ing extensive and careful tests as to the 

 extent of the injury, the time when bees 

 are poisoned, and also in searching for 

 a remedy. Judge Taylor, of Yakima, 

 Washington, suggests that since the 

 arsenate of lead is said to be sweet, the 

 bees may be attracted to it at times 

 when the trees are not in bloom. He 

 also suggests the possibility of adding 

 to the spray some repellant which is 

 obnoxious to the bees, and thus prevent 

 them from taking it at any time. 



From Washington comes the report 

 that the greatest loss is not at the time 

 when the trees are in full bloom, but 



April 



during the subsequent spraying for the 

 second and third broods of codling 

 moth. The injury seems to be worse in 

 dry sections, where water is not easily 

 available, which indicates that the bees 

 in search of water for brood rearing at 

 times suck up the newly applied poison. 

 Until we have more definite informa- 

 tion on which to base our demands for 

 legal protection, let us appeal for help 

 to the extension departments of our 

 agricultural colleges in spreading infor- 

 mation and to the experiment stations 

 to ascertain true conditions. 



Sends Fruit Man to Europe 



Apple growers throughout the North- 

 west will be keenly interested to learn 

 of the forward step taken by the asso- 

 ciation at Hood River, Oregon. 



This organization was among the 

 very first to recognize the opportunity 

 for growth and expansion of its distri- 

 bution through intelligent European 

 trade connections. 



Now that conditions are rapidly be- 

 coming normal. Sales Manager McCuI- 

 lagh recommended to the board of 

 directors of the association that Dwight 

 L. Woodruff, their New York district 

 manager, visit the United Kingdom, 

 France, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Den- 

 mark and, if advisable, other European 

 countries, with instructions to carefully 

 study trade conditions and obtain first 

 hand information as to undeveloped 

 business possibilities. 



Mr. Woodrufi" left New York late in 

 March, expecting to be away from 

 America until about July 1. On his re- 

 turn Better Fuuit hopes to furnish its 

 readers with a synopsis report covering 

 this extended trip, which we feel sure 

 will be of unusual benefit to the apple 

 industry. 



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WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRUIT 



