FRUIT-BLOSSOMS. 



229 



FRUIT-BLOSSOM; 



market, where he gets fancy prices. While 

 the l>ees do their part of the work, tuauy of 

 them are lost in the attt^mpt to find their 

 way back to the hive. They fly against the 

 glass, where, of course, they worry them- 

 selves to death. This makes it necessary to 

 supply fresh cok>nies every now and then : 

 but even this expense is made up many 

 times over in the crop of cucumbers. 



lu the spring of 1S92 the late Allen Piingle. 

 of Selby. Out., one of the leading bee-keep- 

 eis of Canada, testified that he was sum- 

 moned to appear before a legislative com- 

 mittee of the House of Assembly of Ontai-io. 

 to give evidence of the agency of bees in 

 s. attering pollen. The Minister of Agricul- 

 tuiv summoned not onlv the leading bee- 





^Sl 



lXTEr.I'_'R OF CUCUMBZK - GF.EEXH<:'rSE : 

 HIVE WITH EXTRAXCE INSIDE. 



men. but those eng-aged in grv»wing friut. to 

 present the facts, exj^eriences. and the pros 

 and cons on both sides. Xot only this, but 

 the scientists were also summoned from 

 » Ottawa and Guelph. Mr. Piingle goes on 

 10 Siiy. that "the horticulturists, with one 

 single exception, admitted the valuable and 

 indispensable offices performed by honey- 

 l>ees in the fertilization of our fruit-bloom. 

 And this was corroborated and confirmed 

 by the entomologists. . . . Prof. James 

 Fletcher, the Dominion Entomologist, said 

 bees did " not ^isit in dull weather, and then 

 we have but little fniit in consequence." . . 

 As to bees injuring fruit, theiv is no direct 

 evidence." Mr. Pringle also'says : 



1 have kept l>eesfor30years^:ind bavegrowu frnii 

 and clover alongside for the same period. I have 



also studied and expKjrimenied somewhat in this 

 line as well as many others. As to some kinds of 

 fruit —notably apples— I have observed that if, 

 during the bloom, the weather was such that 

 neither winged insects nor the wind iljeing wet 

 and cold" could perform their function with the 

 flowers, the fruit was lacking. When the weather 

 at other times was favorable and the bioom almn- 

 dant. I have excluded the liees fi-om certain por- 

 tions of the tree, only to find the fruit al-so exclud- 

 ed—but only from those reserved portions. . . . 



The fruit-growers agreed that the "bees play a 

 very important p;»rt iu cross-fertilization, and, 

 therefore, should not l>e destroyed;"' that "we are 

 very generally dependent upon insects for the 

 fertiliKition of our orchard. To destroy them to 

 any extent would be very injurious to fruit- 

 growers." 



The consensus of the meeting was, that "bee- 

 keel)ers and fruit-growers are of great help to each 

 other, and even indisi)ens;ible. if each class is to 

 obtain the best results in their work." 



Mr. Frank Benton, lately in the employ of 

 rlie Depaitment of Agriculture. Washing- 

 :< lU. D. C. in one of the Gk)vernment Bulle- 

 tins for 1S94. page 254. commenting on the 

 agency of bees in the fertilization of fruit- 

 blossoms, says : 



The facts they have brought forward are gradn- 

 y becoming more widely known among frait- 

 - ; owers and bee-keepers, and additional evidence 

 accumulates. A case illustrating very clearly the 

 value of bees In an orchard has recently come to 

 the notice of the Avriter, and its authenticity is con- 

 flrmed by correspondence with the parties named, 

 who are gentlemen of long and ex»ensivelexperi- 

 euce in fruit-growing, recognized in their locality 

 as being authorities, particularly in regard to 

 cherry culture. The facts are these: For several 

 years the cherry crop of Vaca Valley, in Solano 

 Co.. Cal.. has not been good, although it was for- 

 merly quite sure. The partial or complete failures 

 : ;i ve been attributed to north winds, chilling rains. 

 .:.d similar climatic conditions; but in the minds 

 L'l Messrs. Bassford. of Cherry Glen, these causes 

 did not sufficiently account for all the cases of 

 failure. 

 I These gentlemen recollected that formerly, when 

 the cherry crops were good, wild bees were very 

 plentiful in the valley, and hence thought perhaps 

 the lack of fruit since most of the bees had disap- 

 peared might be due to imperfect distribution of 

 the pollen of the blossoms. To test the matter 

 they placed, therefore, several hives of bees in 

 their orchard in 1890. The result was striking, for 

 the Bassford orchard bore a good crop of cherries, 

 while other growers in the valley who had no bees 

 found their crops entire or partial failures. Tins 

 yejir ilS91i Messrs. Bassford had some sixty-five 

 hives of bees in their orchard, and Mr. H. A. Bass- 

 fortl writes to the Entomologist: "Our crop was 

 good this season, and we attribute it to the bees:" 

 and he'adds further: "Since we have been keep- 

 ing l>ees our cherry crop has been much larger 

 than f«»rmerly, while those orchards nearest us, 

 Bvi- mik-s from here, where, uo bees are kept, have 

 pntduced but light crops." 



Ag;iin, J. E. Cnuie writes iu this same 

 s\iuposium an iirticle so full of pith and 



