June, IQ20 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 9 



ally conceded that the honeybee is the 

 most important of the many agents in 

 this service. Other insects render their 

 service as well, but their service can- 

 not be depended upon. Their numbers 

 are uncertain and fluctuating. They 

 may be absent at the very time when 

 Ihey are most needed, as, for instance, 

 at the height of apple bloom. Thus it 

 is claimed that the honeybee is first 

 and foremost the most important, and 

 that it should be provided and con- 

 served by the farmer. 



Since there are differences in pollen, 

 however, it might be contended by some 

 that the wind is active in transferring 

 the pollen from free to tree or blossom 

 to blossom. To be sure, some pollen is 

 lighter than others and easier carried 

 by the wind, but in the provisions of 

 nature, pollen which is light and trans- 

 ferable on the breezes is designed so to 

 be carried, and trees which bear it are 

 usually wind pollinated, those which 

 are actually independent of insects. 

 The pines furnish an example. Obser- 

 vations are not infrequent where the 

 air has been seen filled with millions of 

 pollen granules drifting with the wind. 

 But among the fruits and vegetables the 

 pollen is usually more heavy and in- 

 clined to be sticky or viscous, as is the 

 case with the pear. This heavy pollen, 

 in order to be transported, is dependent 

 upon the service of some insect, usually 

 the honeybee, and is capable of being 

 carried by the wind to a very slight, if 

 any, extent. In the case of apples, too, 

 experiments have been conducted which 

 tend to prove that little or no pollen in 

 the apple orchard drifts on the wind. 



The service of the honey bee, alluded 

 to in transferring pollen, may be re- 

 garded as performed unconsciously or 

 unintentionally while seeking for nec- 

 tar or pollen in the flowers. In procur- 

 ing the nectar, for instance, which 

 flowers dependent upon the services of 

 insects usually produce in abundance, 

 there is a secretion in the nectary or 

 honey-cup at the base of the flower. 

 The bee, for illustration, dusts off part- 

 icles of pollen which become entangled 

 in her hair. Then the bee in quest of 

 more nectar flies to another blossom 

 and in the course of her search for 

 nectar therein leaves some of the pollen 

 on the female organ of the blossom 

 (pistil.) Thus, almost mechanically and 

 accidentally, the function of the bee 

 has been performed in this vital oper- 

 ation. Finally, the pollen lodged on 

 the sensitive pistil germinates much as 

 does seed, and sends forth or projects 

 a slender growth or thread which grad- 

 ually finds its way down through the 

 pistil and reaches the true female ele- 

 ment or ovule which is virtually the 

 embryonic seed. Here, there is a fusion 

 of the male and female elements which, 

 when it occurs, perfects the process 

 known as fertilization, wherefrom re- 

 sults a perfect seed. 



Many plants are sterile to their own 

 I)ollcn and require pollen from another 

 source. Furthermore, self-fertilization 

 is tliought to tend to weaken the off- 

 spring, and in contrast crossing or cross 

 fertilization is thought to result in 

 greater strength and productivity. 

 Moreover, flowers are generally con- 



structed to favor cross fertilizatiin and 

 to prevent perpetual self-pollination. 



From the standpoint of the plant, the 

 results of crossing become apparent 

 especially in the second generation. 

 Thus the Baldwin apple blossom may 

 be fertilized by pollen from a Porter 

 apple. The resulting apple will develop 

 as a Baldwin, yet one or more of its 

 seed when planted may produce a vari- 

 ety, differing in many respects from its 

 parent. Thus the bees may serve to 

 make new crosses and to increase 

 varieties. 



There is also another feature, namely, 

 the apple requires five independent 

 fertilizations for complete results. The 

 lack of even one of these may impair 

 its vigor and change its appearance, re- 

 sulting in an imperfect development or 

 malformed fruit. Incomplete fertiliza- 

 tion also explains the dropping of 

 apples, and suggests that the more com- 

 plete service of bees might avoid this 

 consequent loss. 



Some light may be thrown on the de- 

 pendence of flowers on bees by a few 

 concrete examples. An experiment was 

 conducted in which 100 clover blos- 

 soms were covered with netting in 

 order to exclude bees, with the result 

 that not a single seed was produced. 

 Similarly 100 blossoms exposed to the 

 visits of bees produced, in contrast, 

 2,720 seeds, showing conclusively the 

 need of bees in seed setting in clover. 



With the apple, 2,580 blossoms were 

 covered and the entrance of bees pre- 

 vented, with the result that only three 

 apples matured. 



It is not unconnnon to observe from 

 four to six bees eagerly at work gather- 

 ing honey and pollen in a single squash 

 blossom. The writer has noted eight 

 bees simultaneously in a squash blom- 

 som: within an hour twenty-eight bees 

 were counted flying from the same 

 blossom. 



The number of flowers a bee will 

 visit may vary according to the amount 

 of nectar being produced. A bee can 

 visit fen to fifteen flowers a minute, yet 

 she will remain longer on a flower if 

 the nectar is flowing freely. In that 

 case, she would secure her load without 

 visiting as many flowers. 



In attracting bees to a flower, there 

 are several stimulative factors, namely, 

 the nectar and pollen, color and odor. 

 The multiplicity of trees in full bloom 

 increases fhe attraction. Nevertheless, 

 high color or extreme fragrance do not 

 always induce fhe bees to visit, for the 

 lilac and heliotrope are neglected, 

 while some of the less conspicuous 

 flowers prove enticing. 



Besides the nectar in the flower, bees 

 are in search of pollen as a food. This 

 is a highly nutritious substance, sup- 

 plying nitrogen and phosphorus — two 

 needed elements in animal economy. 

 To be sure, this pollen is provided 

 vastly to the excess of the actual needs 

 of bees, but its seeming over-production 

 may be explained on the ground of an 

 effort on tlie part of the plant to insure 

 pollination. 



It has been claimed that the honeybee 

 sucks juices from fruits. Although bees 

 arc observed commonly on fruits, yet 



Good Judgment Says: 



Use Caution 

 in Choosing 

 Spraying 

 Materials 



Your crop depends on it. Wtiether 

 your investment and your year's 

 work will pay a profit depends on 

 it. The health and producing abil- 

 ity of your trees, in future years, 

 depends on it. Therefore, again, 

 good judgment says: Use caution 

 in choosing spraying materials. 



Orchard Brand Dry Powdered 

 Arsenate of Lead is positive in its 

 effect, is certain and sure in its re- 

 sults when properly applied. 



All that scientific experiment, 

 laboratory tests, extensive field 

 demonstrations and long use by 

 practical fruit growers can do to 

 establish this certainty has already 

 been done. 



It is always uniform, high in con- 

 centration, adhesive, lasting and 

 spreads evenly without collecting 

 in splotches. Its results show in 

 clean, perfect fruit. A thorough 

 coating on the leaves during tlie 

 late summer and fall will prevent 

 many worm "stings" and wormy 

 fruit. 



Other spray materials, for specific 

 purposes, we recommend are: 



Orctiard Brand Dry Powdered 

 Arsenate of Lead 



Orchard Brand Arsenate of Lead, 

 standard paste 



Orchard Brand Atomic Sulphur i patented) 



Orchard Brand Bordeaux Mixture Paste 



Orchard Brand Powdered Bordeaux (Mixture 



Orchard Brand Lime Sulphur Solution 



B T S Dry Sulphur Compound i patented) 



Orchard Brand Weed Killer 



Universal Brand Dormant Soluble Oil 



Universal Brand Miscible Oil 



Universal Brand Distillate Oil Emulsion 



Liquid Whale Oil Soap 



Our interests are the same as 

 yours. Write us about your tree 

 troubles. Also write for Bulletin 

 No. 3 on Dormant Spraying of De- 

 ciduous Fruit Trees. 





General Chemical Company 



770 Royal Insurance Building 

 Department A 



San Francisco, California 



WIIKN' WRITING APVrHTISrRS MKNTION BTTTKR FRUIT 



