No. 4.] STATE INSPECTOR OF APIARIES. 119 



Appendix I, 



SPRAYING VERSUS BEEKEEPING. 



As a preliminary report on the problem of spraying v. bee- 

 keeping, the State Inspector of Apiaries presented ^ "An Inquiry 

 into the Spraying Laws of North America in their Relation to 

 Beekeeping Interests." 



During the seasons of 1914 and 1915, the beekeepers have be- 

 come much concerned over this question. Numerous complaints 

 have come to the inspector, as well as appeals for assistance 

 to the secretary of the State Board of Agriculture. Appeals 

 have been made to see if by persuasion, by education, or by 

 law, certain fruit growers or contracting sprayers could be pre- 

 vented from spraying orchards in full bloom. The inspectors, 

 too, have found in their visits to the beekeepers that colonies 

 and apiaries were depleted, run out or ruined for the season 

 through what is termed "spray poisoning." Considerable data 

 both from the inspectors and by correspondence are available. 

 Samples of dead bees, collected by the inspectors or furnished 

 by the beekeepers, have been analyzed chemically. Moreover, 

 with the advance of intensive spray practices, the alleged poison- 

 ing of bees is becoming noticeable in other States. In a word, 

 it is now an economic factor affecting the beekeeping industry. 

 Thus it would seem desirable to make an additional report of 

 the data gathered, as a further guide in the problem of spraying 

 V. beekeeping. 



It is the particular aim of this report to point out conditions 

 and suggestions as they have occurred, rather than to attempt 

 to express judgment on policies. Many of the suggestions made 

 are pertinent to a possible alleviation of the burden which bee- 



> Gates, Burton N., 1914: Fourth annual report of the Inspector of Apiaries, January 14, 1914, 

 Apiary Inspection Bulletin No. 7, Appendix II., pp. 13-10. 



