1900 



GI/EANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



403 



vent all growing of the grass and weeds near 

 the hives, and make it easy to handle the 

 lawn-mower, I should be inclined to believe 

 that so mnch solid masonry during the winter 

 W'Culd be a rather cold b^d-fellow. 



As one looks over this apiary he can not but 

 envy the owner the comfort he apparently en- 

 joys in taking care of bees for pleasure as well 

 as for profit. Imagine the delightful coolness 

 of working over the hives on a hot summer 

 day in such a yard. There would be little or 

 no hanging out of the hives, probably, and 

 the bee-keeper could set the combs down here 

 and there without danger of the sun melting 

 them or in any way injuring the bees. 



The photo was sent us by a friend whose 

 name I have misplaced ; but he evidently re- 

 sides at Ballston Spa, N. Y. I should be glad 

 to have the sender of it give me his name. 



SPRAYING FRUIT-TREES WHII,E IN BI,OOM. 



The following letter, just received from 

 Prof. W. J. Green, of the Ohio Experiment 

 Station, will explain itself : 



Mr. A. I. Root : — I inclose a letter from the Farmer'' s 

 Guide ; also a clipping from that paper, which was 

 sent me by the editor. I knew some time ago that 

 there were people who believe that spraying trees 

 when in bloom is more beneficial than just before or 

 just after, but I was not aware that any one would 

 give such advice as Mr. Stahl does. Mr. Stahl's posi- 

 tion is such that he can do great harm in this way, 

 because he has numerous correspondents, and it is 

 quite likely that he will induce a great many to spray 

 trees when in bloom. 



I was present at the New York State Horticultural 

 Society meeting last winter, and heard the statement 

 made that there were fruit-growers in the State who 

 intended to spray their trees when in bloom, and pay 

 the penalty if fined, as there is a law in that State 

 against .«pra> ing trees when in bloom. If this senti- 

 ment becomes at all universal among fruit-growers it 

 will work great injury, not only to bee-keepers but to 

 fruit growers as well. W. J. Green. 



May 9. 



The letter referred to from the Guide Pub- 

 lishing Co., of May 7, is as follows: 



Horticulturist, Experiment Station, IVoosier, Ohio. 



Dear Sir : — Herewith find page of last week's issue 

 of The Farmer's Guide in which we criticise the advice 

 given by William Stahl, of Quincy, Illinois, on spraj'- 

 ing fruit-trees in full bloom. We are in receipt of a 

 letter from Mr. Stahl in response to our criticism in 

 which he says : 



" I regret that you are just a little behind the times 

 in giving your advice. Spraying in full bloom is noth- 

 ing new to me, as I have been experimenting in this 

 direction for several years. My own trees have not 

 only been sprayed once, but have been sprayed twice, 

 and I have most excellent prospects. It may be well 

 to state, in connection herewith, that, in the grape- 

 growing section of Nauvoo, which is only fifty miles 

 north of here, and consists of five hundred acres, al- 

 most every acre will be sprayed this year in full 

 bloom." 



Mr. Stahl enclosed a copy of a letter from Mr. J. H. 

 Fishel, a fruit-grower ot Grant County, Indiana, in 

 which he says that he has been spraying in full bloom 

 for three years, and that his fruit is ninety per cent 

 perfect, and that he has plenty. He intimates that he 

 has kept his plan a secret, and adds : 



" I am aware that the idea prevails that it kills hon- 

 ey-bees, and I have found, also, that it is n( t necessary 

 to have bees to fertilize the bloom of fruit. I have 

 been frequently asked why I have such perfect fruit 

 and so much of it when others have scarcely any, and 

 what they have is not worth any thing. Id) not tell 

 my secret, for fear of being blamed of killing bees." 



Now, if we are behind the times we want to know it 

 and to know the safe, sure, and good way to catch up. 

 If spraying in full bloom is better than otherwise, if 

 bees are not needed in fertilizing and pollenizing, and 

 that it is right to kill them in secret, or otherwise, we 

 should like to know it. 



We are addressing this letter to seven experiment 

 stations besides yours, and await the replies with con- 

 siderable interest. Thk Guide Publishing Co. 



Huntington, Indiana, May, 1900. 



The clipping from the Guide, which we be- 

 lieve to be absolutely correct, is as follows : 



.A. farmer came into The Guide sanctum Saturday, 

 bearing a look of unusual disgust. He had recently 



dered one of Stahl's spray-pumps, and with it had 

 received a letter from the manufacturer vouchsafing 

 to him a great secret, which is furnished with every 

 spray-pump upon request, which .secret is .is follows : 



" Give your vines and trees one ad.litional spraying 

 this year when in full bloom, using for this spraying 

 Bjrdeaux mixture, and adding thereto Paris green in 

 the proportion of one pound to 160 gallons of Bor- 

 deaux mixture." 



The manufacturer states that, where the spraying 

 was done when the trees were in full bloom, the re- 

 sults were simply wonderful. If the sprayer manu- 

 factured and sold is of as much doubtful utility as the 

 above advice is unsound, then would we hesitate to 

 buy it or advise its purchase. Any benefits that spray- 

 ing might have on the fruit while the trees are in full 

 bloom, over omitting the spraying at i his time, is sure- 

 ly overcome by the destruction of the fruit-growers' 

 best friends, the bees. Spraying with Pains green at 

 the rate of one pound to 200 gallons of water is suffi- 

 cient to destroy injurious injects; but when the 

 amount of Paris green is increased, the de.striiction of 

 the honeybees and other pollenizing insects is en- 

 hanced. This is so plainly recognized i i Michigan, 

 New York, and other States, that laws have been pass- 

 ed forbidding the use of poisonous spraying mixtures 

 while fruit-trees are in bloom. 



We have gone through the bulletins of the experi- 

 ment stations on file in this office, and do not find in 

 any of them a recommendation to spray while the 

 trees are in full bloom. On the contrary, we find ad- 

 vice to never spray a fruit 7vhen it is in blossom This 

 we find i alicized in Bulletin 1-12, Cornell University 

 Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. Following the 

 above words are : " You can reach the insect and fun- 

 gous enemies just as effectively, and in some cases 

 mjre so, either just before or just after the trees 

 bloom." 



The foregoing bulletin is by Prof. M. V. Slingerland, 

 one of the best entomologists in this country, and 

 what he says upon the subject is reliable, and is at va- 

 riance with the advice given by the manufacturer of 

 the Stahl sprayer. 



This man Wm. Stahl, while prominent as an 

 advertiser, may not know very much about 

 the subject of spraying. To tell the editor of 

 the Farmer's Guide., and practically say to all 

 experiment stations that they are "just a lit- 

 tle behind the times," is as egotistical as it is 

 impertinent. It is to be regretted that the 

 State of Illinois does not have a law against 

 the spraying of fruit. Such laws are already 

 in force in Michigan, New York, Colorado, 

 and bills have been or are being introduced 

 before many of the State legislatures. When 



1 was in New York recently I learned that the 

 most progressive fruit-growers are not in favor 

 of spraying during bloom. They state that it 

 is not only unnecessary, but that it actually 

 kills their very best friends, the bees. Of 

 course, there are a few who are of the contrary 

 way of thinking, but they do not represent 

 the up-to-date growers. 



EXCESSIVE BICYCLE-RIDING AND HEART 

 TROUBLE ; A WARNING TO THE BOYS. 



Our readers will remember Harry Howe, 

 one of W. L. Coggshall's lightning operators — 

 a man who, with three helpers (boys), actually 

 extracted 1400 lbs. of honey with a non-revers- 

 ing extractor, taking the combs out of the 

 hives, shaking the bees oiT, carting the combs 

 to the extracting-house, and returning the su- 

 pers again to the hive, putting the honey into 



