196 HOW TO KEEP BEES 



ners of the bees that it is not within the scope of this 

 book to make an adequate list. Some of the more 

 important are the flowers of trees, and some of farm 

 crops; some bloom in gardens and some are mere 

 weeds. 



TREES 



Fruit trees, when in blossom, give much pollen 

 and honey at a time when these are greatly needed 

 by the bees for rearing brood. 



Peach, pear, apricot, plum and especially apple 

 trees, when in bloom are encompassed about with 

 the happy chorus of busy and grateful bees; and no 

 other creatures can so successfully vocalise blissful 

 contentment as they. Many careful experiments 

 have proved beyond doubt that the help of bees is 

 necessary for securing the pollenation requisite to pro- 

 duce good crops of fruit. The wise and successful 

 fruit-grower recognises this fact and, mindful of his 

 true interests, does not spray his fruit trees with 

 poisons while they are in blossom, lest he thereby 

 kill his friends, the bees. Moreover, to use arsenical 

 sprays, at such a time, is injurious to the petals and 

 the fruit-producing organs of the flow^ers; and it is 

 also too early to spray successfully against the 

 codlin moth. In many states, legislation forbids 

 the spraying of poisons during fruit-tree bloom, 

 because it is a useless and wanton destruction of the 

 bees. 



Some time since great injustice was done the bees 

 through the accusation that they punctured the ripe 



