DECEMBER 15, 1912 



tieular pains to ripen it afterward, is to be 

 deplored. And we wish to say further, that, 

 in our opinion, ripening honey artificially 

 is a task for an expert, and one that ordi- 

 narily should not be attempted by the av- 

 erage beekeeper. There has been so much 

 unripe honey on the market that we believe 

 it unwise to recommend a cheaper method 

 of producing that may, unless great care is 

 used, lower the quality of the product. — 



Ed.] 



*-•'-*■ 



BEEKEEPING IN THE SOUTHWEST 



Poisoning witii Arsenate of Lead 



BY L. H. SCHOLL 



{Continued from page 791.) 



Having had varied experience in cotton 

 spraying and dusting during my position 

 as apiarist and assistant entomologist of 

 this State a number of years ago, I think 

 that serious trouble from the above source 

 can be abated to a great extent. Together 

 with my younger brother, entomologist of 

 the Texas Dej^artment of Agi-iculture, I 

 think we can devise a means by another 

 year that will protect the beekeeper, at 

 least to some extent. 



We have found that simply dusting the 

 cotton-plants either with Paris green or 

 London purple does not materially affect 

 the bees. Esi^ecially so is this true if the 

 l^oison is applied by the " sack and pole " 

 method, in Avhich the major portion of the 

 poison drops on the plant and the wide 

 leaves, and very little reaches the nectaries 

 under the bracts of buds and blossoms and 

 the under side of the leaves. At the same 

 time this is the most economical and effec- 

 tive method. 



The application of liquid sprays, such as 

 arsenate of lead, requires expensive ma- 

 chinery, heavy hauling of the liquid, and 

 much more labor. While the spray reaches 

 every part of the plants better, which 

 makes it so serious for the bees, this is not 

 necessary, since the poison is needed at the 

 very tops of the plants where the cotton- 

 leaf worms do most damage. 



Just what procedure to follow we can 

 not say at the present time; but it seems 

 that, where poisoning becomes necessary, 

 it will be well to educate the people toward 

 dusting their cotton-fields instead of using 

 the more expensive methods of spraying 

 liquid poisons that are disastrous to the 

 beekeepers who may be in the neighbor- 

 hood. As matters develop, further reports 

 will follow. 



New Braunfels, Tex. 



[The following letter from our English 



803 



correspondent suggests that other causes 

 may account for the death of the bees; but 

 in the above ease, at least, the spray used 

 on the cotton-plants seems clearly to blame. 

 See also the statement by R. B. Slease, on 

 next page. — Ed.] 



♦ ♦ » 



POISONED BEES 



Is tiie Poison Always to Blame for the Trouble ? 



BY G. W. BULLAMORE 



Erom time to time there appear in 

 Gleanings and other journals accounts of 

 heavy losses of bees from the spraying of 

 fruit-blossoms. Although I am quite "sat- 

 isfied that a bee can not drink solutioiis of 

 sulphate of copper or arsenate of lead with 

 impunity, I do think that this explanation 

 of losses is somewhat overworked. Losses 

 which are similar to these are known to oc- 

 cur when fruit-spraying can not be blamed. 

 In England, spraying with sulphate of cop- 

 per is sometimes used to check the growth 

 of charlock or wild mustard in cornfields. 

 This action has been freely blamed for 

 some of our heavy losses. Artificial ma- 

 nures, and the dust and fumes from motor 

 cars, have also been mentioned. In the ab- 

 sence of any human agency, Nature is ac- 

 cused. Poisonous nectar and frosted pollen 

 are the agencies which she is supposed to 

 employ. 



In an account of the Brazilian bee plague, 

 quoted by Professor Zander, it is stated that 

 some of the beekeepers attribute their loss- 

 es to nectar gathered from goldenrod. 

 - Zander also quotes a letter he received con- 

 cerning losses in Germany, and in it occurs 

 the following passage : " An old beekeeper 

 thinks that when, in spring, artificial ma- 

 nures containing so much salts are spread 

 on the maodows, there is no more luck. 

 The bees take the salt fluid and perish of 

 it. For four or five years he has had this 

 experience with his best stocks, just like 

 me. Another beekeeper thinks it is an in- 

 fectious disease in the place." 



Heavy losses in New York were attribut- 

 ed by some to the pouring of mineral oil on 

 the marshes in the crusade against mosqui- 

 toes; but others preferred to blame the 

 spraying of fruit-trees. 



Dzierzon gives the following description 

 of vertigo : 



Toward the close of the fruit-bloom, 

 which is a very critical time for bees. Na- 

 ture appears often to prepare a poison for 

 bees, so that in this district we often find 

 at this time, in the hive and outside, a quan- 

 tity of bees, mostly young, struggling with 

 death. Whether the bees carry in the poi- 



