104 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb 1 



Some bee-keepers, he stated, were inclined 

 to make sweeping assertions, to the effect that 

 no fruit could set without the agency of the 

 bees. This was altogether too strong a state- 

 tdk nt. That bees did play a most important 

 p irt in the fertilization of some kinds of fruit- 

 trees could not be denied. That question 

 might be considered settled. 



In the experiments that had been conduct- 

 ed, it was found that the blossoms that were 

 sprayed just at the time they were in full 

 bloom were either killed or injured. If the 

 spraying were administered only during the 

 blooming-time the poisonous mixtures did not 

 go to the right spot, in a good many cases, for 

 the simple reason that no cluster of apple- 

 blossoms, for example, opened out at one and 

 the same time. Some blossoms would be 

 closed, and impervious to the effect of the 

 spraying-liquids ; and if no more spraying 

 were administered after blooming-time, then 

 those blossoms that were not open would not 

 receive the benefit, and the fruit-eating insects 

 would then get in their work. The profess- 

 or brought out the point clearly, that if 

 spraying were applied before blooming and 

 after, the leaf-eaiing insects in the first case, 

 and the fruit eating insects in the other, would 

 be de^t'oyed. 



He further showed that the spraying-mix- 

 tures are exceedingly harmful to the develop- 

 ment and growth of the delicate pollen. Some 

 pollen was gathered and taken into the labo- 

 ratory and mixed with a thin syrup, then after- 

 ward a quantity of spraying-liquid was applied, 

 of about the strength that is used in spraying 

 trees. It was found in every case that the 

 pollen failed to grow. Then the spraying- 

 liquid was reduced 50 per cent, and still mix- 

 ed with pollen and syrup which had been pre- 

 pared, and still the pollen grains failed to 

 grow in most cases. The professor said he 

 was decidedly of the opinion that spraying 

 during blooming-time was exceedingly harm- 

 ful to the delicate reproductive organs, and to 

 the pollen itself in the flowers of the fruit- 

 trees. He referred to a certain Mr. Kellogg 

 who had tried spraying strawbenies while tbey 

 were in bloom, and much to his sorrow. He 

 mentioned a number of instances of fruit-men 

 who formerly had believed that spraying dur- 

 ing blooming-time was the correct practice, 

 but had now been completely converted. 



In the experiments that were conducted in 

 four orchards located in different parts of 

 the State, a certain set of trees were set apart 

 and sprayed while in bloom, and only then, 

 and others were not sprayed. Even though 

 the bloom was exceedingly abundant, it was 

 found that those trees that were nol spraved 

 during blooming-time yielded from a third to 

 a bushel and a half more of fruit. In some 

 cas^s they sprayed a half of one tree several 

 times during blooming time, leaving the other 

 side of the tree not sprayed. There was a 

 marked difference in the setting of the fruit 

 on the two sidt's of the trees, and that differ- 

 ence was decidedly in favor of the side not 

 sprayed. F)xperiments were conducted in 

 fruit-orchards in different parts of the State ; 

 and in one instance, at least (the professor 



would not give the name) a certain fruit-man 

 who believed that spraying during blooming- 

 time was the right thing to do, estimated, after 

 he had sprayed his whole orchard at such 

 time, that he had lost nearly a thousand dol- 

 lars. He had had enough of that business. 



The professor stated, however, that there 

 was one instance when spraying right during 

 blooming-time might prove to be advanta- 

 geous; and that was, to kill the apple-scab that 

 might come on at just that time ; but even in 

 such a case it has not yet been proved that 

 spraying before and after bloom may not be 

 equally efficient. But, generally speaking, the 

 conclusion seemed to be that spraying dur- 

 ing blooming-time was not only wasteful 

 but decidedly harmful as well, cutting down 

 the supply of fruit to an extent that, if gen- 

 erally practiced, would amount to thousands 

 of dollars to the fruit-men all over the State. 



On the evening of the first day we listened 

 to an excellent address from another professor 

 of the same station — Prof. V H. Lowe. The 

 experiments that had been conducted under 

 his direction were for the purpose of deter- 

 mining the value of insects in poUenizing 

 fruit-blossoms. A certain set of nine .'mall 

 pear-trees (it was not practicable to use large 

 ones) were enveloped in a hood of sheeting. 

 This hood was large enough to slip down over 

 the whole tree, something in the form of a 

 bag — the bag tied at its bottom around the 

 trunk of the tree. The object of this was to 

 keep out insects, ants, bees, or any thing 

 that might assist in poUenizing the blossoms. 

 For the purpose of ventilation, some windows 

 were made in the sheeting, and the openings 

 covered with a fine netting. On all of these 

 trees so covered, there was a large number of 

 buds, and all the conditions were favorable 

 for a good crop, except that the flight of in- 

 sects was entirely cut off. Now, then, for the 

 results : Out of the whole lot of trees covered, 

 there was just one fruit. On another set of 

 trees not covered there were 145. In the other 

 case, where it was not practicable to envelop 

 the whole tree, one large limb, for instance, 

 would be inclosed in the bag, the mouth of 

 the bag being tied around the trunk of the 

 limb. In one such instance there were 2483 

 buds of an apple-tree that were thus covered 

 with the sheeting. Out of that number jnst 

 one fruit matured. There was plenty of fruit 

 on other portions of the tree where the limbs 

 were not covered. In one case, where the 

 sheeting broke open so that insects could get 

 in, there were 13 perfect fruits from 818 buds. 

 It was clearly shown that bees or other insects 

 play a most important part in the pollination 

 of average fruit-trees. When the professor 

 was at-ked how much of this pollination was 

 attributable to bees and how much to other in- 

 sects, he said he could not tell ; but Mr. O. L. 

 Herschiser, in referring to a similar set of ex- 

 periments made some years ago at the Michi- 

 gan Agricultural College, showing the same 

 results, said that the bees were altogether the 

 earliest insects out ; that at the time the aver- 

 age fruit-tree is in bloom it is too early in the 

 spring for other insects to be of any value. In 

 his opinion the covering of the limbs or the 



