HONEY-BEES IN HORTICULTURE 75 



Bees for the Horticulturist. 



When the horticulturist or market gardener reaUzes that he is 

 depending upon the services of the fluctuating wild bees or even 

 colonies poorly maintained in his neighborhood, he asks what can 

 be done to overcome this unreliability and assure himself that he 

 is to receive maximum services when the pollination of his crops 

 most need them. The answer and recommendation is an easy one. 

 For the protection of his crops he has but to establish an apiary 

 in proportion to the size of his orchard or garden, which will main- 

 tain a high frequency of honey-bees as pollinators and eliminate 

 dependency upon wild honey-bees or honey-bees from neighboring 

 apiaries, or more especially the services of wild insect life o^■e^ 

 which he may have no control and which may fail him at a crucial 

 moment. There is little danger of over-pollinating the orchard or 

 fields in insect life when pollination service is desired. It is far 

 better to flood the orchard with bees during the blooming period 

 than to have a scarcity. Furthermore, the cost of small apiaries 

 for orchard and market garden purposes is infinitesimal as com- 

 pared with the possible benefits and returns. 



The common experience of orchardists during the fruit bloom 

 period further intensifies the necessity for their control of the 

 pollinating agencies. How common it is in May to have inclement 

 weather conditions which do not favor the free flight of insects and 

 particularly of honey-bees. ^Yhile wild bees and wild insects are 

 sometimes numerous in the vicinity of orchards in bloom, weather 

 conditions may entirely prohibit their activities as pollen bearers 

 or more particularly, should these insects, especially the honey-bees, 

 need to fly a mile or more in order to reach the orchard, the pollina- 

 tion of that orchard may be entirely abandoned, due to the pro- 

 hibition of the weather, hence, for certainty honey-bees should 

 have easy access to an orchard. Numerous observations are on 

 record wherein orchards were successfully fertilized when the 

 honey-bees had less than one-fourth mile to fly, while more distant 

 orchards bore no crops. Thus the apiary in or adjacent to an 

 orchard will safeguard failure. 



Particular results as observed by orchardists and beekeepers 



