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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1 



Mr. Schaeffle had been working- several 

 3'^ears to get a pure-food law passed; and if 

 he had lived long- enough he would have 

 made it hot for somebody in San Francisco, 

 as there would have been some exposures. 



He was a man who worked unflinchingly 

 in the interest of bee-keepers in his section 

 of the country. All through the last ses- 

 sion of the State legislature, his son writes, 

 he had been working strenuously for legis- 

 lation that would aid in the suppression of 

 honey adulteration, and for protection from 

 foul brood, although he was so weak that 

 all his work was done through dictation. 

 He believed in pure honey as well as every 

 thing else that was square. That his la- 

 bors were not in vain is evidenced by the 

 fact that the foul-brood law in California, 

 which was defective in some particulars, 

 was amended, and the bill was signed by 

 the governor in January. California bee- 

 keepers probably have now as good a law 

 as they could ask for; and our friend Mr. 

 Schaeffle, who has just passed away, de- 

 serves no small thanks. 



A POSSIBLE SOLUTION OF THE PEAR- BLIGHT 



PROBLEM BY WHICH THE BEES AND THE 



PEAR-TREES CAN BE ALLOWED TO 



EXIST IN THE SAME VICINITY. 



It will be remembered by our readers 

 that Dr. M. B. Waite, of the Department of 

 Agriculture, Washington, a year or so ago 

 discovered that bees, among other insects, 

 carried the virus of pear-blight from one 

 blossom or tree to another. This statement 

 came from a strong friend of the bee, who 

 has given it as his candied opinion that 

 perfect fruitage in orchards could not take 

 place without the little friends of the bee- 

 keeper. But the stubborn fact was that one 

 of the primal causes at least of the spread 

 of pear-blight that has wrought such havoc 

 in the orchards of California was the bee. 



It will be remembered that the bee and 

 fruit men were preparing for a conflict; 

 that the latter averred that they would set 

 out poison if the bee-men did not remove 

 their bees from the vicinity of the pear-trees; 

 and the National Bee-keepers' Union was 

 appealed to, and as an officer of that Asso- 

 ciation the writer appeared on the field to 

 see what sort of compromise could be effect- 

 ed. The result of this visit was that a 

 truce was declared, and the bee-keepers, 

 for experimental purposes, decided to re- 

 move their bees from the infected regions — 

 at least during the time the trees were in 

 bloom; but in spite of the fact that the ma- 

 jority of bee-keepers kept this agreement 

 in good faith, there would be an occasional 

 bee-keeper, even among the fruit-growers, 

 who would still leave his bees in the old lo- 

 cation. It was evident that, unless every 

 one complied with the proposition, no bene- 

 fit would accrue. 



Well, matters have been going on from 

 bad to worse. There have been talks of 

 "courts," "poison," and a great amount 

 of bad feeling has been engendered. 



Now comes this Dr. Waite, according to 



the newspaper reports, and says that the 

 pear-bligh€ can be removed without inter- 

 fering with the industry of bee-keeping. 

 According to a newspaper report (a source 

 which we do not always credit, but which 

 seems in this case to bear the appearance 

 of genuineness). Dr. Waite has discovered 

 a plan by which "colonies of the bacilli " 

 already existing in pear-blighted trees can 

 be located and removed from the tree before 

 it comes into bloom. Dr. Waite is quoted 

 as saying, referring to the pear-growers, 

 " Let them put the diseased part of the 

 tree out of the way before insects begin to 

 fly, and before the blossoms come out for 

 them to alight on." Very simple. And 

 now Dr. Waite is to be sent by his depart- 

 ment to Colorado, to show the orchardists 

 how to discover the "colonies of bacilli," 

 and get them out of the way before bees 

 and other insects have an opportunity to 

 carry the infection. According to the same 

 report, the "colonies of blight bacilli live 

 in green bark where the blighted discolored 

 portion blends oflF gradually into the nor- 

 mal bark." The doctor simply recommends 

 a little common sense and some tree surgery. 



One of the largest pear-growers in Cali- 

 fornia told me that the pear-men themselves 

 were largely responsible for the spreading 

 of the disease. Granting that the bees were 

 the chief agent in spreading the infection, 

 he said that many of the growers allowed 

 the diseased trees to exist on their premis- 

 es without pruning. When they come into 

 bloom the insects carried the infection from 

 flower to flower and from tree to tree. 



It is evident that all the fruit-growers 

 will have to take unusual precaution to ex- 

 amine every twig in their orchards, and 

 cut out the diseased portions. The failure 

 of one pear-grower will put in jeopardy 

 the interests of all the growers in his vicin- 

 ity, to say nothing of the fearful damage 

 among his own trees; and I would suggest 

 that the kee-keepers themselves co-operate 

 with the growers, and, if necessary, donate 

 some of their own time in helping to prune 

 the trees. A helpful spirit of co-operation 

 will do more to solve this intricate problem, 

 and place both industries on a paying basis, 

 than any law, court, or poison could ever 

 effect. 



The large pear-growers in the vicinity of 

 Hanford, Cal., so far as I could see, were 

 progressive men. It was the small growers 

 who talked venom and "poison," "courts" 

 and "fight." 



I omitted to mention that Dr. Waite says 

 the pruning-knife or shears must be dipped 

 in some disinfecting medium every time it 

 cuts off a limb of a tree. It would be mon- 

 strous foolishness to scatter the blight from 

 tree to tree in the very act of preventing 

 such spread. 



Of course. Dr. Waite's new plan may not 

 prove to be entirely effective, from want of 

 perfect co-operation and thoroughness. If 

 they fail to take the means at hand, then 

 the bee-men can hardly be held accountable 

 before the courts. 



