336 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. DcC. 



BEES AS FLOWER-FERTILIZERS. 



However iiupoitant the work of the bee in securing the delicious 

 honey, that is not its most important work. The honey-bee has been 

 very aptly termed "the marriage-priest of the flowers." In order 

 that fruit and seed may be produced, the pollen must be carried 

 from stamen to pistil, this work being done in some cases by the 

 wind, in others by insects, chief of which is the busy bee. Every 

 observing farmer lad has noticed that on a cucumber, squash or 

 pumpkin vine there are two kinds of blossoms, which he probably 

 designates as "false" and ''true." The true or pistillate blossom, 

 before it opens, shows at its base the miniature fruit, which grows 

 and matures, providing the pollen is brought from a false or stam- 

 inate blossom. If the pistillate blossom be covered with mosquito 

 netting, so that no insect can reach it to bring the pollen, the little 

 fruit will "blast," or shrivel up and drop off. 



Many plants, however, have what are called perfect blossoms; that 

 is, stamens and pistils are found in the same blossom. Why should 

 uiiy go-between be needed in such a case? Even in this case, an 

 all-wise Creator has so arranged that the pollen of any given flower 

 shall not be used to fertilize the pistil of the same flower, for too 

 close breeding of this kind is sure to bring deterioration. Take the 

 apple. An apple blossom has stamens and pistils on the same flower. 

 In order to fertilization, the pollen must be ripe, and the stigma of 

 the pistil must also be ripe or in a receptive condition. It is wisely 

 ordered that the times of ripening of the two do not coincide. So, 

 when the stigma is ready to receive the pollen, no pollen is ready on 

 the same blossom, and it must depend on having pollen brought 

 from other blossoms. The honey-bee is the chief operator in this 

 case. If a portion of an apple tree be enclosed in a netting at the time 

 of blooming, the part thus enclosed will show very little fruit. If, 

 at the time of blooming, the weather be rainy or bad, so that bees 

 can fly but little or not at all, the apple crop to that extent may be 

 counted a failure. If white clover blossoms be covered by netting, 

 those so covered will mature only a fractional part of their seed 

 as compared with those left open. 



THE PROFITS OF BEE-KEEPING. 



These are generally considered without any reference to the great 

 profit of the bees in fertilizing plants, the value of honey alone 

 being asually considered. Beeswax is. however, a product of no 

 mean importance. If bees are left to themselves, it is not an un- 

 common thing for a colony to send out two or more swarms in a 

 season. If we limit the number of swarms to two, that will triple 

 th.' nnmbcr of colonies. So a man who begins with one colony, 



