• J- 



48 First Annual Report 



to which it is fed in the hive, it becomes a question of momentous import- 

 ance that all should know that bees are valuable to the fruit grower and the 

 apiarist alike, and that the nomologist who poisons the bees is surely killing 

 the goose that lays the golden egg. That bees are easily poisoned by 

 applying sprays to trees that bear nectar-secreting blossoms at the time of 

 bloom, can be easily demonstrated by any one in a very short period of time. 

 It has been demonstrated in a frightfully expensive manner in several apiaries 

 in various parts of the country. Several bee-keepers, whose all was invested 

 in bees, have lost all their property, all because some fruit growing neighbor 

 either thoughtlessly or ignorantly sprayed his fruit trees while in bloom; and 

 this in the face of the fact that, for the best results even in the direction 

 sought, the spraying should be deferred until the blossoms fall. I have 

 demonstrated this fact where the results were entirely in sight. I have shut 

 bees in a cage and given them sweetened water, containing London purple 

 in the proportion of one pound to 200 gallons of water, and in twenty-four 

 hours the bees were all dead; while other bees, in precisely similar cages and 

 fed precisely the same food, with the poison omitted, lived for many days. 



"We thus see that it becomes very important that pomologist and bee- 

 keeper alike know the danger, and also know the loss to both parties in case 

 caution is not observed to avoid the danger and probable loss. It is also 

 important that, by definite experimentation, we may learn just how important 

 the bees are in the pollenization of plants. To determine this point I tried 

 many experiments last spring. I counted the blossoms on each of two 

 branches, or plants, of apple, cherry, pear, strawberry, raspberry and clover. 

 One of these, in case of each fruit or each experiment, was surrounded by 

 cheese-cloth just before the blossoms opened, and kept covered till the 

 blossoms fell off. The apple, pear and cherry were covered May 4, and 

 uncovered May 25 and May 19. The number of blossoms considered varied 

 from 32, the smallest number, to 300, the largest. The trees were examined 

 June II, to see what number of the fruit had set. The per cent, of blossoms 

 which developed on the covered trees was a little over 2, while almost 20 per 

 cent, of the uncovered blossoms had developed. Of the pears not one of 

 the covered developed, while 5 per cent, of the uncovered developed fruit. 

 Of the cherries 3 per cent, only of the covered developed, while 40 per cent, 

 of the uncovered blossoms set their fruit. The strawberries were covered 

 May 18 and uncovered June 16. The number of blossoms in each experi- 

 ment varied from 60 in the least to 212 in the greatest. In these cases a box 

 covered with cheese-cloth surrounded the plants. The plants were examined 

 June 22. Eleven per cent, of the covered blossoms and 17 per cent, of the 

 uncovered had developed. To show the details, in one case 60 blossoms 

 were considered, 9 of which in the covered lot, and 27 in the uncovered, had 

 developed. That is, three times as many flowers had set in the uncovered 

 as in the covered. In another case of 212 blossoms the fruit numbered So 

 and 104. In a case of 123 blossoms the number of fruit was 20 and 36. 



