230 ' BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



has also been the writer's privilege to dispel this idea through 

 experimentation and by references to high authorities who 

 refute the charge against the bee. It should be borne in mind 

 that the jaws of the bee are smooth and rounding and quite 

 unfit to make an opening in a sound fruit. On the other 

 hand, the jaws of the wasp are perfectly equipped for 

 puncturing and opening fruit. In order to substantiate that 

 bees are unable to puncture sound fruit, the writer has sus- 

 pended a sound but over-ripe peach and pear in front of the 

 entrance to a colony. These nevertheless remained un- 

 touched, even during a scarcity of nectar in the fields. 



The Inteekelation of Speaying and Beekeeping. 



"While the value of the honeybee as an agent in the dis- 

 tribution of pollen has been emphasized, it would be remiss 

 to fail to mention correct spraying practices. To spray any 

 plant while in flower, more especially fruit trees while in 

 bloom, offers baneful results. It is the old story of killing the 

 goose which lays the golden ^%^,. Many colonies -are either 

 damaged or lost at the time of spraying, through poison de- 

 posited in the nectar cups of the flowers. If the loss is not 

 apparent at the time, a colony may be so crippled as to pre- 

 clude its successful wintering. It is now conceded by high 

 authorities that spraying in fruit bloom is injurious not alone 

 to the bee but to the flower. Any solution strong enough to 

 kill the codling moth larvoe may be harmful to the delicate 

 reproductive organs of the flower. In erroneously spraying 

 during fruit bloom the supposed aim has been to kill the 

 codling moth. The eggs are usually laid on the foliage of 

 the young shoots. The larva? hatch and travel ultimately to 

 the young fruit. There they either burrow through the side 

 of the fruit or usually through the calyx end into the core. 

 Since these larvae of the codling moth are not hatched and 

 present in the blossoms, it is a faulty method to try to kill 

 them by sprays during the blooming period, especially since 

 the spray may injure the setting of the fruit. Moreover, 

 this poison may effectually be distributed over the foliage and 

 into the calyx cups at any time within ten days after two- 



