126 



April, 1913 



I American lim Journal 



combs built crosswise, some in barrels, 

 and in one case an old trunk was used. 

 1 did not -go into this. The condition 

 of the bee-yards varies as much as the 

 hives. 



Besides the regular inspection work 

 and treatment, it is the plan to have as 



many demonstrations or " field days" 

 throughout the State as the conditions 

 will justify. In my opinion, this is the 

 practical and educational part of in- 

 spection, and I earnestly ask all bee- 

 keepers for their heartv co-operation. 

 Putnam, 111. 



Contributed 



Articles^ 



M 



Spraying Trees in Bloom 



BY H. F. WILSON, 



Assistant Etitomohigist. Oregon Aeriiiiltural 

 College. 



|R. \V. H. \'OLCK. Horticultural 

 Commissioner of Santa Cruz 

 Co., Watsonville, Calif., in the 

 January number of Better 

 Fruit, under the heading of 

 "Caterpillars, Codling Moth, Aphids," 

 pages 16 and 17, makes the following 

 statements: "Owing to the very early 

 attacks of tussock caterpillars, canker 

 worms and leaf folders, the first spray- 

 ings should not be delayed until the 

 blossoms have all fallen, but applied 

 while the trees are in bloom. The 

 period from full bloom to the time 

 when two-thirds of the blossoms have 

 fallen afj<ears to be the most practical 

 timing. Sprayiug^ zvitli good arsenicals 



•will cause tio injury to the blossoms 



Apply the first spraying when the trees 

 are in full bloom to the time when 

 two-thirds of the blossoms have fallen." 



Note that he states that the time 

 mentioned appears to be the best. This 

 recommendation, which is undoubt- 

 edly given on reliable data and experi- 

 ments, is a very dangerous one for 

 both the bee-keeper and the horticul- 

 turist. Certainly such a practice causes 

 the destruction of insects which feed 

 upon the nectar of the blossoms, and 

 climbing over them in search of it, aid 

 in pollenization. In localities where it 

 is followed the honey-bees will be de- 

 stroyed. One of our local bee-keepers 

 suffered such loss from the spraying 

 of a single orchard that he was com- 

 pelled to move to a different locality. 



It is a common recommendation of 

 this station to suggest bees for the or- 

 chard and farm, both for cross fertili- 

 zation of fruits and the surplus honey. 

 In view of this recommendation, I will 

 state that in Oregon we have the tus- 

 sock moth, canker worm, and several 

 caterpillars which cause more or less 

 damage to the fruit, but only in one in- 

 stance have they caused enough dam- 

 age to make it necessary to consider 

 methods of control other than those 

 now in use. 



In localities where it becomes nec- 

 essary to combat these early-feeding 

 caterpillars, the spray should be ap- 

 plied before the blossom buds open. 

 At that time the young caterpillars will 

 be more easily destroyed than a week 

 or 10 days later. There may be some 

 opposition to this extra application on 

 account of the cost, but surely the 

 value of the cross-fertilized fruit over 



the self-fertilized will be more than the 

 cost of spraying. 



Just how much we can depend upon 

 the wind and air currents for distribut- 

 ing pollen is hard to say, but several 

 investigators have carried on experi- 

 ments which tend to show that not as 

 much pollen is distributed in this way 

 as one would expect. 



I suggest that the fruit-growers of 

 every State be careful about spraying 

 when the trees are in bloom. 



Corvallis, Oreg. 



The Iowa Program 



BY FRANK C. PELLETT. 

 ' finva State Inspector of Al>laries. 



THE Iowa State Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation bids fair to become one 

 of the strong organizations of 

 its kind. The members are live 

 wires, and propose to place the 

 bee-keeping industry on a par with 

 other agricultural pursuits in Iowa. 

 Lack of organization has given the 

 impression that bee-keeping is at a low 

 ebb. But the census shows nearly 

 30,m00 bee-keepers on the farms of 

 Iowa. Those occupying less than three 

 acres, the limit set by the census bureau 

 of the smallest area composing a farm, 

 were not reported by the census enum- 

 erators. 



As a result, while more than half the 

 number of persons keeping bees was 

 reported, probably not much more than 

 half of the number of bees and product 

 is shown in the census figures. Many of 

 Iowa's largest honey-producers live in 

 the towns and occupy less than three 



acres of land. Any business in which 

 40,000 people are engaged, even in a 

 small way, is worthy of more attention 

 than has been given by the State of 

 low^a. 



Nothing is being attempted at this 

 time by the association that all mem- 

 bers present at the convention did not 

 agree upon. The things that are now 

 being urged are : 



First, an appropriation of funds 

 for bee inspection, to be administered 

 under the direction of the State Ento- 

 mologist. It is believed to be the best 

 plan to take the appointment of inspec- 

 tors and administration of the funds of 

 the office entirely out of politics. 



Second, the establishment of a chair 

 of beekeeping at the agricultural col- 

 lege. The authorities of the school 

 favor this move, and it might have 

 been done before had there been any 

 outside interest apparent to justify it 



Third, the employment of a lecturer 

 on bee-keeping on the extension force 

 to appear before farmers' institutes and 

 other assemblies. This has already 

 been done temporarily by the appoint- 

 ment of C. H. "True, of Edgewood, for 

 the present winter season. It is ex- 

 pected that a regular lecturer will be 

 permanently employed before long. 



Fourth, the passage of a law prohib- 

 iting the shipment of bees from other 

 States into Iowa without a certificate 

 signed by some authorized inspector, 

 showing that they are free from dis- 

 ease. The Peterson bill, now pending 

 in the Legislature, carries this provis- 

 ion. 



Fifth, better premiums and better 

 facilities for exhibiting at the State 

 and County fairs. The secretary, act- 

 ing on instructions from the conven- 

 tion, has already written to the secre- 

 tary of every county fair association, 

 calling attention to the fact that bee- 

 keeping is not receiving the attention 

 it deserves at the fairs, and suggesting 

 a premium list suitable for such exhi- 

 bitions. 



Good results are expected from this 

 campaign. A committee was also ap- 

 pointed to confer with the State Fair 

 board regarding the exhibits at the 

 State Fair. We expect favorable at- 

 tention from this body, and hope that a 

 separate division of bees and hive pro- 

 ducts will ultimately be established 

 with a satisfactory place for exhibition 



L. L. Andrews With Combs of Honey Ready to Go into House fok Extracting. 



