52 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



They will work on fruits that have been punctured by birds, 

 wasps or other insects or on decaying fruit late in the season 

 when there is no nectar to be found in the natural sources of the 

 flowers. 



I have crushed bees when they were at work on over-ripe 

 raspberries and found the honey sacks filled with the red juice 

 of the berries. They will not trouble berries so long as they 

 are firm and in a marketable condition. The small fruit grower 

 need feel no anxiety even when bees are quite numerous in the 

 fruit patch. They will not sting at such times unless they 

 happen to be accidentally jammed when picking the fruit. If 

 they seem at times to be something of a nuisance, remember 

 they have no doubt increased your crop many quarts. The 

 grower of small fruits, both the bush fruits and strawberries, 

 needs the bees among the blossoms to fertilize them and cause 

 them to fruit fully as much as, if not more than, the apple and 

 pear grower. 



Many would like to keep a few colonies of bees in the orchard 

 but feel that they have not the time or inclination to care for 

 them. 



The purposes of pollination may be accomplished and con- 

 siderable honey secured in the following manner : 



Provide several hive bodies, duplicates of the one in which 

 the bees are hived, and as the season advances., add the extra 

 hives, one at a time as needed by the bees. If it is desired to 

 use the honey in the comb as chunk honey, the frames in the 

 hives above the brood chamber proper should not be wn red and 

 strips of thin foundation should be used instead of full sheets 

 of brood foundation. If it is to be extracted, full sheets of 

 foundation and wiring are advisable. 



If the extra hive bodies are added at the proper time before 

 bees are crowded there will be little trouble with swarms and at 

 the close of the season, or before being prepared for winter, the 

 extra hives may be removed and extracted or kept in a warm, 

 dry place until the honey is used or sold. The honey can be 

 cut from the frames as chunk honey and sold to near-by cus- 

 tomers. The price realized will not be as much as is paid for 

 honey in sections, but more can be secured and it would not 

 cost the bee-keeper as much per pound. The frames in which 



