90 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA : 



was asked by the provincial Minister of Agriculture to go 

 to Toronto and give evidence before the committee. The 

 question that was put to me was this : ' Is there any 

 practical or scientific reason why this Act to prevent the 

 spraying of trees whilst in blossom should not pass ? ' 

 I could not think of any reasonable. objection, for spray- 

 ing when the trees are in flower is quite unnecessary and 

 is very inadvisable, because if, as the apiarists claim, their 

 bees are poisoned if Paris green be applied when the 

 trees are in bloom, and I maintain you do more harm 

 than good by destroying the pistils of the flowers. Why do 

 bees visit flowers ? To get honey, and nature provides 

 this so as to attract insects at the time when they can be 

 of most use in fertilizing the flowers. Directly the pistil 

 is fertilized no more honey is developed, it is no more 

 use to the plant. If we wait for spraying until the flowers 

 drop off, there is no danger of poisoning the bees, because 

 they do not then visit the trees. There is nothing to 

 take them there ; but by spraying the trees after the 

 flowers drop we do destroy the little caterpillar which 

 hatches from an egg laid by the codlin-moth in the calyx, 

 and the small quantity of Paris green which we recom- 

 mend one pound to 200 gallons of water is sufficient 

 to kill the larvae, and as a consequent we get a return 

 from our labour in 75 per cent, more fruit than we should 

 otherwise have had." 



The remarks as given above only tend to confirm the 

 opinion held by the writer of this book, viz., that it is 

 inadvisable, and it may be even dangerous, to spray a 

 fruit tree of any kind whilst in bloom. Wait until the 

 blossom has fallen ; then, also before the buds make their 

 appearance, is the time for spraying. If we are to be 

 successful with our spraying we must depend much more 

 than we have hitherto done on winter and early spring 

 spraying. 



In a recent publication received by me from America 

 it is stated that in large orangeries the use of the gas- 

 tents, as described in Part I. of this book, has nearly 

 superseded the system of spraying. But in Australia, at 



