270 



August, 1916. 



American Hee JoarnaJj 



training, can scarcely be expected to 

 meet all the requirements. Massachu- 

 setts is a pioneer in the field, for men 

 and assistance. 



This outline is already extensive, 

 representing an apicultural income to 

 the country of millions of dollars, the 

 figures of which have never been de- 

 termined. But beekeeping has an even 

 greater, more important, fundamental 

 and stupendous agricultural aspect than 

 any yet enumerated. It is that inesti- 

 mable service of the honeybee in seed, 

 vegetable and fruit production, the 

 value of which may never be computed. 



This horticultural relationship of bee- 

 keeping is of deepest significance wher- 

 ever peaches, plums, cherries, pears, 

 apples, various berries, certain seeds 

 as the clover seeds and cucurbitaceous 

 vegetables (like the squash, cucumber 

 and melon) are grown. 



It may be conjectured that by a fiat 

 or decree, all manner of bees in a 

 locality could be temporarily annihi- 

 lated. Suppose this occurred when 

 fruit trees are in blossom. What would 

 be the results ? Orchardists are willing 

 to prophesy an entire failure in the 

 harvest. At least, there would prob- 

 ably be few well matured vegetables or 

 fruits, berries, plums, pears or apples. 

 Where bees have died out in certain 

 towns the vegetable crops and even 

 fruit crops have materially suffered, 

 owing to the lack of the bee's inesti- 

 mable service in transporting the male 

 element of the flower, the pollen, so 

 essentially necessary to fertilize many 

 domestic vegetables and fruits. Even 

 though horticulturists till, fertilize, 

 prune, spray, and thin, their harvest 

 may fail unless the bees are sufficient 

 to pollinate the flowers. Beekeeping, 

 therefore, may be considered the root 

 and foundation of successful crop get- 

 ting. 



So particularly dependent are certain 

 horticultural specialists that at least 

 2000 to 25011 colonies of bees are an- 

 nually used in the cucumber green- 

 houses of Massachusetts alone. Within 

 the last few years Massachusetts cran- 

 berry growers have found that honey- 

 bees assure greater success, in their 

 million dollar enterprise. Similarly 

 field-crop growers, as of melons and 

 cucumbers, are introducing bees on 

 their plantations. Likewise, the com- 

 mercial orchardists, small fruit grow- 

 ers and the professional seed producers 

 realize that it is most profitable to 

 maintain apiaries. 



Amherst, Mass. 



Overstocking and the Distance 

 Bees Fly 



Also Touching On the Qualifications 

 of a Good Rocky Mountain Location 



BY WESLEY FOSTER. 



WHEN the Editor of the American 

 Bee Journal asked me to say 

 something on the overstocking 

 of locations in the West, and also 

 something on how far bees fly, I 

 thought the subject, if properly han- 

 dled, should cover the qualifications of 

 a good bee location. And here it 

 should be said, that many beekeepers 

 who have settled in the West have not 



been able to judge carefully of the 

 most desirable locations. 



Generally speaking, the older an irri- 

 gated district becomes, the less certain 

 is the honey crop. Just notice that 

 Colorado has a lower average crop 

 than any of the Rocky Mountain States. 

 The reasons for this are numerous. 

 Alfalfa is cut sooner, because the great 

 cattle ranches are being broken up; 

 dairying is fast being taken up and 

 cow hay is not allowed to stand in the 

 field and bloom. 



The methods of farming are improv- 

 ing and there is much less vacant, un- 

 tilled land to grow up to sweet clover. 

 The establishment of the beet sugar 

 industry has had its effect upon the 

 Arkansas Valley as a honey country in 



If sweet clover in abundance is acces- 

 sible to bees within one-half mile of 

 an apiary, I doubt whet lerthey will go 

 much farther, but 1 know they will fly 

 across a valley a mile wide to sweet 

 clover pasture, and in a season of 

 drouth, I have known apiaries of mine 

 to store honey in fair quantity (40 

 pounds surplus to the hive of comb 

 honey) by flying over a dry hill nearly 

 two miles to a well watered alfalfa and 

 sweet clover pasture. 



The distance of the flight of bees is 

 pretty well determined in western Col- 

 orado, where the orchards cause trou- 

 ble for the beemen. By removing api- 

 aries two miles, little if any poisoning 

 results. One mile, or 1 '4 miles, does 

 no appreciable good. 



THE HORSEMINT IS A 



VALUABLE DESERT 

 BEEMAN 



FLOWER FOR THE WESTERN 



Colorado. Wherever a sugar factory 

 has been built, considerable alfalfa has 

 been plowed up, lessening the available 

 bee pasturage. 



Three acres of alfalfa to one colony 

 is the ratio most common where over- 

 stocking has not occurred. And I find 

 that where one colony of bees is found 

 for every acre of alfalfa in a given 

 area, that the poor crop and the fail- 

 ures come with an unwelcome fre- 

 quency. 



Sweet clover, acre for acre, is worth 

 three acres of alfalfa, which is not say- 

 ing sweet clover is worth any more 

 than Mr. Frank Coverdale's estimate of 

 $4.00 an acre. This value of an acre 

 of bloom can never be accurately de- 

 termined for it varies from year to 

 year. 



I believe that one mile is the average 

 flight range of working bees in the 

 Rocky Mountain region. 



THE DESIRABLE LOCATIONS. 



The Rocky Mountain region is one 

 great cattle range, and in the valleys, 

 where the hay is raised for the winter 

 feed of these cattle, desirable locations 

 are had. The large hay ranches are 

 not yet broken up into smaller places 

 in many valleys, so that the cultivation 

 is not so intensive and the alfalfa stands 

 in bloom for a longer time. Many of 

 these valley locations have a very fine 

 spring flow from the mountain bloom 

 and fruit blossoms. Where these con- 

 ditions prevail are the desirable loca- 

 tions. The bees have opportunity to 



