H 



10 BOARD OF AGRTCULTUKE. 



Of course they do not work, for nature nover inteiulod that they should, 

 l)Ut they can Iniiii more loudly than citlicr (lueen or worker and therefore 

 create more— noise, do you say? You forget this is the poetry of agri- 

 culture—they create more music, if you please. Let us be careful, then, 

 how we say anytliiiig in disparageiuent of the drones, for they serve 

 their mission in life just as nature intended thej' should. 



There are other equally wonderful things to be learned in the study 

 of apiculture, all of which are susceptible of the clearest and most con- 

 vincing demonstration. I cite this only as an example. 



Of course, it is the chief mission of the honey bee to gather and store 

 honey, that most delicious and healthful of all sweets, and it is here 

 that the apiarist reaps his greatest protit. but in addition to this it serves 

 other necessary purposes as well. 



It seems to be a well established fact that bees are necessary to the 

 successful production of many varieties of fruit, especially apples and 

 pears. It has been demonstrated that the finest specimens of fruit are 

 produced by means of cross-pollination of the fruit blossoms. 



In the Year Bonk of the United States Department of Agriculture for 

 the year 1S98, pp. 174-175, after a somewhat extended discussion of this 

 subject, the following conclusions, among others, are reached: 



(1) IMany of the common varieties of peare require cross-|)ollination, 

 being partially or wholly incapable of setting fruit when limited to their 

 own pollen. 



(2) Cross pollination consists in applying pollen from a distinct horti- 

 cultural variety: that is, one which has grown from a distinct seed, and 

 not in using pollen from another tree of the same grafted variety, which 

 is no better than that from the same tree. 



(3) Self-pollination takes place, no matter whether foreign pollen is 

 present or not. Tlie failure to fruit with self-pollination is duo to sterility 

 of the pollen, and not mechanical causes, the impotency being due to 

 lack of affinity between the pollen and the ovules of the same variety. 



(4) Varieties that are absolutely self-sterile may be perfectly cross- 

 fertile. 



(5) Self-fecundated pears are deficient in seeds and the seeds produced 

 are usually abortive. The crosses are well supplied with sound seeds. 



(6) The normal typical fruits and in most cases the largest and finest 

 specimens from both the so-called self-sterile and self-fertile varieties are 

 crosses. 



(7) The practical conclusions drawn from the experiments with apples 

 are the same as those from the work on pears. 



(8) The number of insect visitors in any orchard determines to a 

 great extent the amount of cross-pollination carried on. 



But perhaiis some one will ask, What has all this to do with bee- 

 keeping? Simply this: After having shown that the production of the 



