No. 4.] STATE INSPECTOR OF APIARIES. 137 



are we sufficiently informed as yet through experimentation to 

 know just what are the best practices to recommend? 



While beekeepers, entomologists and other professional workers in the 

 field of spraying have taken a sensible position, I have wondered for a 

 long time if they have not been guided more by theoretical and senti- 

 mental considerations than bj'' an actual knowledge of the normal activi- 

 ties of bees in the orchards, and of insecticides and fungicides on the 

 welfare of these features in the setting of fruit. The experimental data 

 along these hnes that have come into my possession seem to me to be 

 insufficient and inconclusive. A more satisfactory solution of the prob- 

 lem wall not be made until there is a thorough investigation. 



The lines of investigation are then outlined, and concern the 

 well-recognized insufficient information on the importance of 

 cross-pollination, the role of bees in this, and the influence of 

 spraying mixtures on both of these factors. 



Another phase of the problem lies in the relative importance 

 of beekeeping and the municipal shade tree or the trees and 

 shrubs of an estate or forest. This is an involved question, 

 and a subject upon which very little has been said. The im- 

 portance of preserving the shade trees of a city or town is well 

 recognized. It cannot be denied that we must conserve our 

 forests. The estate owner prides himself upon the luxuriance 

 of his plantings. There must be, nevertheless, a right rela- 

 tionship between these, one which, Avhen worked out, will pre- 

 serve the interest of the beekeeper. For the present, it would 

 appear necessary to consider well the situation before spraying 

 forest or shade trees or shrubs which are in bloom. 



To summarize the whole problem, and viewing it from all 

 aspects, the data resolve themselves into questions of policies 

 based on a proper understanding of correct spraying methods. 

 To this end, the problem, in its large sense, is an educational 

 one, demanding educational methods, the spread of proper 

 information, and, of course, the continuance of investigation. 

 The majority of beekeepers, as w^ell as horticulturists, not alone 

 in Massachusetts but elsewhere, are relatively united on this 

 point: barring certain local conditions and demands, it is 

 generally considered possible at least to minimize the danger of 

 killing bees, even with the present incomplete understanding of 



