134 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15. 



means of fertilization and cross-fertilization — 

 other winged insects — the wings of the wind, 

 etc. But for certain fruits and clovers, the bee 

 is, 2inr excellence, the ministering angel in their 

 fruition. Let no one deny this. The man of 

 experience, as well as the man of science, will 

 contradict him if he does. 



I have kept bees for 30 years, and have grown 

 fruit and clover alongside for 30 years. I have 

 also studied a little and experimented a little in 

 this line as well as many other lines. As to 

 some kinds of fruit — notably apples — I have ob- 

 served that if, during the bloom, the weather 

 was such that neither the winged insects nor 

 the wind (being wet and cold) could perform 

 their function with the flowers, the fruit was 

 710/1 est. When the weather at other times was 

 favorable, and the bloom abundant, I have ex- 

 cluded the bees from certain portions of the 

 tree, only to find the fruit also excluded— but 

 only from those certain portions. 



In the spring of 1893 I was summoned to ap- 

 pear before a legislative committee of the 

 House of Assembly of Ontario, at Toronto, to 

 give evidence as to the etfects on the apiarian 

 industry of sprayingfruit-trees, while in bloom, 

 with Paris green and other poisons. Our On- 

 tario Bee-keepers' Association had moved for 

 an act to prohibit the spraying while the trees 

 were in bloom, as the bees were being poisoned 

 in various places, and the spraying at such a 

 time was unnecessary, and, indeed, injurious 

 to the fruit as well as poisonous to the bees. 

 The Minister of Agriculture, for the enlighten- 

 ment and guidance of the legislative committee 

 in a matter so important where the interests of 

 the apiarists and hoi'ticulturists were alike in- 

 volved, had summoned the leading men in both 

 industries in the province to appear before the 

 committee, to present the facts, the experiences, 

 the pros and cons of both sides. The scientists 

 were also summoned from Ottawa and Guelph — 

 Dominion and Provincial entomologists — to 

 speak for science. The questions of spraying, 

 fertilization, etc., were discussed. The horti- 

 culturists, with one single exception, admitted 

 the valuable and indispensable offices performed 

 by the honey-bee in the fertilization of the 

 fruit-bloom: and this was corroborated and con- 

 tirmed by the entomologists. The fruit-grow- 

 ers agreed that " the bees play a very important 

 part in cross-fertilization, and, therefore, should 

 not be destroyed;" that " we are very generally 

 dependent upon insects for the fertilization of 

 our orchards. To destroy them to any extent 

 would be very injurious to fruit growers." 



Prof. James Fletcher, Dominion Entomologist, 

 said, "Bees do not visit fruit-bloom in dull 

 weather, and then we get little fruit in conse- 

 quence." It may be well to quote Prof Fletch- 

 er here on a cognate point also, as being a high 

 authority. He said: " As to bees injuring fruit, 

 there is no direct evidence. Wasps may start 

 the work, and then bees continue it. We have 



never been able to find a case of primary injury 

 by bees." (See official report of meeting.) 



The consensus of the meeting was, that " bee- 

 keepers and fruit-growers are of great help to 

 each oiher, and even indispensable, if each 

 class is to obtain the best results in their 

 work." 



The act we sought of the legislature became 

 law in this Province, as follows: "No person, 

 in spraying or sprinkling fruit-trees, during the 

 period within which such trees are in full 

 bloom, shall use or cause to be used any mix- 

 ture containing Paris green or any other poison- 

 ous substance m/(mou.s to bees." The penalty 

 clause follows, which I need not quote. 



The two following facts are well established; 

 viz., that bees perform an important and well- 

 nigh indispensable function in the fertilizaiion 

 of fruit-bloom; and that, in order to properly 

 protect the fruit from the ravages of destruc- 

 tive insects, it is not necessary to apply the 

 poisonous remedies at a time when the bees, 

 will be injured thereby — that is. during full 

 bloom, when the bees visit the trees for nectar. 

 Darwin, Hilderbrand, ^Nliiller, and other nat- 

 uralists, have, by their observations and experi- 

 ments, placed these matters (of such prime im- 

 portance to the bee-keeper) beyond question. 



Selby, Ontario. 



[Although we have taken up eight pages in 

 this issue, to say nothing of Ave or six taken up 

 in a former issue, on the same subject, we are 

 obliged to omit two or three good articles oa 

 the affirmative. We have put in all those on 

 the negative side thus far received, and have 

 endeavored to give it a perfectly fair hearing; 

 but we think that, when our readers see the 

 whol<>, they will acknowledge that the argu- 

 ments on the bees' side, in number and variety, 

 considerably overbalance those on the other 

 side. 



We have room only to say that Dr. Miller has 

 followed up very closely the writer in the Rural 

 Neiv -Yorker, who he\d that hees have nothing 

 whatever to do with the fertilizing of fruit-blos- 

 soms. Indeed, he has cornered him with an ar- 

 ray of evidence that would be enough to con- 

 vince almost any man except one who will not 

 be convinced against his will. In a foot-note 

 the editor of the Ruo'al says he is not ready to 

 give his say yet; but elsewhere, editorially, he 

 puts in this pithy paragraph in favor of the 

 bees : 



A woi'd for the bees. Tn tlio.se gi'eat greenhouses, 

 near lioston. wiiere early cucumluM's are grown, it 

 is alwjiys necessary to have one or two liives of bees 

 inside to fertilize the flowers. No l)ees, no cucum- 

 bers, uiiluss men go around with a brush and dust 

 the iiollun from one flower to another. 



Whatever the negative has to say. this will 

 be a hard nut for them to crack. If the bees 

 are generally acknowledged to be an aid in 

 greenhouse work, why not out doors ? A few 

 positive cases of this kind, are worth "bush- 

 els'" of negative testimony from the other side.. 

 -En.l 



