10 July, 1917.] 



Apple Culture in Victoria. 



399 



period. The Bordeaux Mixture, or other spray for Black Spot, should 

 be used about four days before the petals open, and the first spray for 

 Codliu Moth .should not be applied until after the petals have fallen. 



Plate 110 shows an orchard apiary, with the trees in full bloom, 

 and it is reproduced from an illustration given by Mr. F. R. Beuhne 

 in his article on bees in the Journal of Agriculture for May, 1914. It 

 is not desirable in a commercial orcluird to have the hives amongst 

 the trees, as they should be out of the way for cultivation, spraying, 

 &c., and as the bees are capable of travelling a considerable distance 

 in search of nectar, they may be housed in almost any corner of the 

 orchard. 



Plate 111 depicts a bee iu a London Pippin flower. It will be 

 observed that the stamens ^t the anther ends fit rather closely around 

 the styles, and that the bee has some difficulty iu reaching the nectary 

 with its proboscis to collect the nectar. 



Assume that this is the variety which requires inter-pollination, 

 and that the bee, with pollen attached to its body, has come from the 

 tree which was planted to cross-pollinate it. Then it ^\^ll be under- 

 stood how the foreign pollen grains on the body of the bee are intro- 

 duced into the stigmas as the insect, in search of the nectar below, 

 endeavours to force the stamens apart. 



The dates on which the different varieties are in full bloom each 

 year vai-y from seven to ten days, according to the weather conditions 

 prevailing at the time. 



The following is a list of 226 varieties of apples growing in Vic- 

 toria and their dates of full bloom, which has been compiled by the 

 orchard supervisors in the various districts as sho-«Ti : — 



