82 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



think one trouble is that our grapes grow where it is too warm to keep 

 them. 



I wish to speak a moment about the California grapes ; we have a 

 man in Southern Kansas who has been trying the California grapes 

 and he is well pleased with his success ; he had no faith in them at 

 first, and some Californian sent them to him and now he is well pleased 

 and finds them very fine, and he especially mentioned the Countess 

 Seedless ; it is a seedless grape and one of the most delicious grapes 

 he ever tried. I do not know what will be the result of that, but if 

 we can raise those grapes in this latitude lets try it; these things are 

 worth trying. 



Mr. — I would like to ask one question : if it is not the honey 



bee that destroys the grapes, what is it ? In Pennsylvania the grapes 

 will ripen and hang on for weeks and months in good condition, while 

 here they can hardly hang on until they get ripe until they are de- 

 stroyed by something, the bees or yellow jackets. 



Mr. Miller — The yellow jackets, wasps and bees go after ; some- 

 thing else has done the work; honey bees are the rear guard. 



Mr. Suodgrass— Honey bees have never bothered my grapes; 

 bumble bees will. 



By Prof. Stedman — I have heard of a good many cases of honey 

 bees working on grapes. I have never known of an actual case where 

 honey bees punctured a grape ; the puncture is made by something 

 else and the honey bee goes and sucks the juice, but from close ob- 

 servation I have never been able to detect a honey bee in the act of 

 making a puncture. 



I have a small vineyard and Mr. Snodgrass is close enough 



for his bees to go to it, and I have taken the pains to watch them very 

 closely, and while my yard and orchard are covered with bees, I am 

 confident that a honey bee never broke the skin on a grape, berry, ap- 

 ple, peach, or anything else. 



Mr. Williams — I have made a close examination and scientific to 

 the best of my ability as a farmer, and I will make this proposition 

 that I will give one hundred dollars for the grape that a bee ever broke 

 the hull upon. 



Q. I should like to ask the gentleman if he means all bees ? 



A. No, I mean the honey bee. 



What I was after was to get a preventive of this puncture of the 

 grape. 



Mr. Zink — I am a bee crank, too, and I am glad to see the har- 

 mony that exists between those interested in bees and those interested 



