Bees
Read about Bees in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Bees in Horticulture. Bees pollinate the greatest number of flowers of any insects. To them, therefore, horticulturists arc indebted for a service that is inestimable, but it is usually disregarded. The progressive horticulturist, however, today is awake to the situation and ready to utilize the honey-bee in an effort better to meet competition. The bee's service to the horticulturist in pollinating the flowers of fruit s and vegetables, is the result of its effort to secure nectar or pollen, the male element of the flower; this is transplanted from the anther to the stigma, which latter is the female organ. Many flowers, for satisfactory fertilization, require a foreign pollen, and it is through the agency of bees that this is usually supplied. The intricacies of the mechanisms and the means of pollination have been described by a host of writers, including Darwin and Muller. There are two kinds of bees, solitary and colonial (social). Solitary bees live isolated and singly, seldom becoming numerous. Among the colonial bees are the bumblebee and honey-bee. While the honey-bee may be classed as wild when colonies escape from apiaries, wild bees may be considered to include all bees other than the honey bee. While wild bees are sometimes numerous and may be observed at work on the apple, raspberry and many other flowers, the honey-bee in most localities, probably outnumbers them. If it were possible to calculate the value derived from pollination by the honey-bee alone, these returns without doubt far exceed the total income of beekeepers through their honey and wax. In the bee, therefore, there is a source of double income. Among the cultivated plants in northern latitudes that are pollinated by bees, are the apple, pear, plum, quince, peach, raspberry, blackberry and strawberry (to some extent), mulberry, pea, bean, currant, grape, squash, melon, cucumber and the cranberry. The value of the honey-bee in the cultivation of the cranberry was but recently recognized and is mentioned on next page. While growers of fruits and vegetables have usually recognized that bees play an important part in their croppage, they have largely depended on the wild bees or bees in neighboring apiaries for service. There is, however, some risk in this, because the seasons vary and the prevalence of insect- and bee-life varies from year to year. It is well known that the prevalence of all wild life, plant or animal, is subject to fluctuations due to favorable and unfavorable environmental conditions. Some years in a locality there is a pest of mosquitos or house- flies. In succeeding years they may be few. It is so with the game birds and the fish of the sea; they are plenty or scarce from time to time. Bees also have their periods of ups and downs. When favored, they rise to the crest of prosperity and prevalence. It may be that disease enters a locality and reduces their numbers. Hard winters may also depreciate them so that in a year when they are needed for their service as pollen- bearers, they are at a low ebb. Fig. 498 illustrates the hypothetical curve of this fluctuation. When the horticulturist realizes that he is depending on this fluctuating service of wild bees, he asks what he can do to overcome the unreliability and assure himself of a maximum crop or a more even crop. The recommendation would be to establish an apiary in proportion to the size of the orchard or garden. This eliminates any dependency upon wild bees or honeybees from neighboring apiaries. Yet their additional service will do no harm. It is far better to over-supply an orchard with bees during the blooming period than to have a scarcity. Furthermore, the cost of the small apiary is infinitesimal as compared with the possible benefits and returns. It should also be remembered that during fruit- bloom particularly, weather conditions often prohibit free flight of bees. Hence they should be near at hand to perform their service. Numerous observations are on record in which orchards were successfully fertilized when the bees had less than a quarter of a mile to fly, while more distant orchards bore no crops. Thus the apiary in or adjacent to an orchard will safeguard failure. A specific instance of the importance of bees to the practical orchardist, is shown in an observation on two orchards of about equal acreage in a western "pocket" in the foothills of an admirable fruit land, well drained and protected from frost. One grower secured large crops, while his neighbor secured none, although his fruit trees were of the same age and blossomed heavily each spring. The owner, in despair of financial ruin, called for assistance upon the State Experiment Station. A specialist, who was a pomologist and entomologist, investigated the two entirely comparable orchards, but was about to return without solving the problem when the question of bees arose. Upon inquiry it was asserted that no bees had been maintained for either orchard. Going over the ground more carefully, however, the specialist found m a neglected corner of the fruiting orchard, a fallen log partially sunken in the damp land. This sheltered a very large colony of bees; to it is attributed the success of the orchard. The following season bees were provided in the orchard which had previously failed, with the result that the owner netted $3,800 on his crop. Special services of bees. Various fruits.—The honey-bee has been known to work the strawberry although it does not always frequent it. There is, however, a particular affinity in the raspberry for bees. One of the sources of the finest honey is the wild raspberry- The blackberry is less frequently visited. Plums benefit materially. Cranberry.—Recently investigations have shown the bees to be of prime importance in the setting of cranberries. In cranberry-growing in Massachusetts, owners are maintaining their own apiaries. It may be desirable to have one colony for every two acres. The growers of melons use colonies of bees on their plantations with most marked success. Similarly, cucumber- growers for pickling-houses and squash-growers regularly maintain bees. General market-gardeners also believe in the benefits derived. Apple and peach orchards.—Apple and pear crops as well as peach and plum are, without doubt, more even, larger and more constant when bees are kept. In Vermont it has recently been noticed that the largest apple crops occur in the vicinity of the commercial apiaries. It is fast becoming the custom among commercial growers to maintain their own apiaries adjacent to or in their orchards. Some advocate a colony of bees for every fifty trees. In greenhouses.—For the fertilization of vegetables and fruits in greenhouses, bees are of material service, haying largely done away with the use of the camel's- hair brush, impossible for commercial growers. For example, in Massachusetts, one grower of greenhouse cucumbers uses upwards of eighty colonies a year. The total number used annually in the state by greenhouse cucumber-growers exceeds 2,000 colonies. It is believed by some that tomatoes in the greenhouse benefit to some extent by the service of bees. The alleged injury to fruit by bees. Occasionally it is alleged that bees damage an orchard. It might be concluded when bees are seen upon peaches, grapes or pears, sucking at the flesh, that the bee is injurious. On the other hand if this act could have been traced, it would have been found that something other than a bee had first pierced the skin of the fruit. Investigation shows that wasps and birds do this, or that a fungus may disintegrate the skin. In some such break in the skin the honey-bee can make a start; but to the satisfaction of all beekeepers and most orchardists, it has been proved by experiments and demonstrations that the honey-bee is physically incapable of puncturing a sound fruit. Thus, the injury by bees to fruit is a misconception; the news should be spread by successful orchardists. Securing of bees. Bees are available to horticulturists in several ways. A small number of colonies is sometimes hired for a period of a few weeks, during the blossoming period of the crop. Growers occasionally induce beekeepers to establish an apiary in their orchards by granting them privileges. Bee-keepers sometimes approach orchardists for the location of the apiary. The more thoughtful grower, however, considers it advisable to own his bees. These he maintains himself or hires kept by a practical apiarist. The practice is growing in favor, especially among moderate-sized orchardists or cranberry-growers, of hiring a practical apiarist to maintain the colonies on several adjacent farms. This cooperative plan insures a maximum efficiency of the colonies at a minimum cost and without burdening the horticulturist with additional detail. Those who use bees in greenhouses will find it advantageous to maintain colonies rather than to purchase annually. In buying bees it is particularly essential to secure disease-free stock. Bees are subject to at least two prevalent diseases, known as "American foul brood" and "European foul brood," to which they succumb rapidly. The inexperienced, therefore, should secure information and ascertain that the bees have been inspected for disease, when this is possible. Should disease set in, a considerable loss, both in bees and to the orchard, might result in a short time. Information concerning diseases can usually be had through the experiment stations or agricultural colleges as well as the United States Department of Agriculture. Manipulation of bees. There are numerous books and bulletins upon the manipulation of colonies. A few fundamental features are: Always keep the colonies strong; secure an amiable race so that the bees may be handled agreeably; keep the colonies in hives from which the combs may be removed; eliminate swarming; give adequate protection in winter; feed when necessary. If the inexperienced grower is to manipulate his own bees, it is advised that he begin with a small number of colonies, say not more than five. If the bee-moth becomes prevalent in the hive, it is a sign that something is radically wrong with the colony. An experienced apiary inspector always suspects the presence of disease when moths are found.
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