APRIL 1, 1914 



247 



Beekeeping Among the Rockies 



Wksley Fcstkr. r> lulder, Col. 



r.OTH SIDES OF THE SPRAYING QUESTION. 



Yes, we have it in our Colorado law thai 

 spraying- fruit-trees while in full bloom is a 

 violation. It is this Avay : The clause deal- 

 ing' with tlie subject is inserted in the law 

 relating' to bee-diseases, otherwise known 

 as our foul-brood law. A number of years 

 ago a clause with the same substance was 

 inserted in the horticultural law, and re- 

 mained oil the statute-books for several 

 years, and did a great deal of good. Then 

 when the horticulturists wanted a new laAv 

 they drew up a bill and thoughtlessly left 

 out tlie clause regarding spraying. This is 

 only natural, for the fruitmen could hardl\ 

 he expected to have the bees in mind all of 

 the time. Perhaps Ihe thoughtlessness Avas 

 on the part of the beemen in allowing the 

 subject to be passed over in that manner. 

 Rut that is what happened, and the major- 

 ity of Colorado beemen went blissfully on 

 mu'sing the belief that they had protection 

 from, spraying' in fruit-bloom. 



A fruit-grower who has a large orchai'd, 

 to get over it all in time, has to begin 

 the spraying at the earliest date so that 

 results may be secured. Suppose he begins 

 when the petals have just begun to fall — 

 what will be the result? There §re many 

 bees in the trees working on the blossoms. 

 Suppose he does kill most of the fruit by 

 his spraying that is not yet fertilized 

 There is generally enough already fertilized 

 to furnish a crop, and the work of thinning 

 will not be so hard. This is an argument 

 often made by intelligent fruit-groAvers — 

 men who keep bees of their own, too; and 

 some of them have knowingly poisoned 

 their own bees, saying that it is better for 

 them to buy bees every year and bring them 

 in to be in turn poisoned than to delay the 

 spraying. There aie so many belated blos- 

 soms tliat some bees will be killed any way. 



Different spraying methods and materials 

 are continually being tried, and new pests 

 of the orcliards are appearing, so that the 

 lot of the beeman is a hard one in a com- 

 mercial-orchai'd district. My candid opin- 

 ion is that the beeman had better keep out 

 of the commercial-orchard districts. At 

 Canon City tv/o years ago the leaf-roller 

 threatened the orchards, and s]iraying was 

 recommended and done throughout the 

 blooming period. It killed bees in large 

 quantities, and did no good to speak of in 

 control of the rollers. But another metliod 

 of control lias been found to be sure, so that 

 the beeman need fear nothing from leaf- 

 voUer spraying. 



The recommendations of horticultural 

 authorities are generally to begin spraying 

 for the codling moth when two-tliirds of the 

 petals have fallen. If this is followed, will 

 not a good many bees be killed? And then 

 liow many fruit-growers can tell when any 

 proportion of the petals have fallen? 



Anofher trouble from spraying comes 

 when the later summer and fall sprayings 

 are applied to kill the later hatches of the 

 codling-moth worm. Cover cropping is now 

 (juite generally done — alfalfa, sweet clover, 

 alsike, and white and red clover being used. 

 The bees working on the bloom under the 

 apple-trees that have been sprayed sip the 

 poisoned nectar from the blossoms, carry it 

 home, and poison the brood and young 

 liatched bees in the hive. New swarms hived 

 in July have perished in two weeks, and 

 many desert their hive jirecipitately. 



In some sections of the fruit-growing 

 West the belief still is held by some promi- 

 nent fi'uitmen that bees are at least partly 

 responsible for the 'fepread of pear-blight. 

 Some hold to the proposition that, if the 

 bees were all moved out of a district, the 

 s]iread of pear-blight could be controlled. 

 The sentiment is strong enough in some 

 places to attempt this if it were not for the 

 difficulty of getting rid of the wild bees and 

 also the difficulty of persuading the beemen 

 of tlie truth of the proposition. I rather 

 think that the fruitmen are not all of one 

 mind on this question in any place. 



A law to control the spraying of fruit- 

 trees during blooming time is a hard one to 

 enforce. It is a potent factor in the more 

 pronounced cases, and I am in favor of a 

 law ; but a frank recognition of the diffi- 

 culties, and a campaign of education by the 

 beemen, will do much good in getting the 

 fruitmen to follow the spirit of the law. 



Tlie beeman is safe enough if he is located 

 in an orchard country where little spraying 

 is done, as then the nectar from fruit-bloom 

 will be a fine stimulant to the bees; but Avhen 

 the arsenate of lead comes along with the 

 blooming of the trees he must look out. He 

 may have nine neighbors Avho will folloAv 

 the rules closely enough so that they Avill 

 do no damage; and one neighbor by sprav- 

 ing a feAv days too soon Avill undo it all. 

 And if the beeman is busy, be may never 

 find out who that neighbor is. If he can 

 find out in time, it can be stopped if there 

 is a laAv in the State; but su])pose the one 

 man can't be found till after the damage is 

 done. The aA-erage man pockets his lo&s, 

 and does nothing. 



