BEES AND HORTICULTURE. 463 



on the part of the little inoculator is nectar. Let us take, as an ex- 

 ample, the apple, a fruit which, from a ultilitarian point of view, has 

 in this country no equal. Its pretty blossom carries five stigmas; to 

 each stigma belongs a division of the compound ovary constituting 

 the core of the fruit. The stigma comes to maturity before the 

 anthers. Bees seeking nectar get dusted completely, and then 

 transfer the granules to the stigmas of neighboring blossoms. * * 

 * =^- The apple, as its blossom indicates, is, strictly, a fusion of 

 five fruits into one, and demands for its production in perfection, 

 no less than five independent fertilizations. If none are effected, 

 the calyx, which really forms the flesh of the fruit, instead of swell- 

 ing, dries and soon drops. An apple often develops, however, 

 though imperfectly, if four only of the stigmas have been pollen 

 dusted, but it rarely hangs long enough to ripen, the first severe 

 storm sending it to the pigs as a windfall. I had 200 apples, that 

 had dropped during a gale, gathered promiscuously for a lecture 

 illustration, and the cause of the falling, in every case but eight, was 

 traceable to imperfect fertilization. 



Among the small fruits gooseberries are absolutely dependent 

 on insects. The failure of this crop is not so uniformly the result, 

 as some suppose, of frost; cold weather at the critical time, keeping 

 the bees within, often being the chief cause. — Prof. Frank R. 

 Cheshire, an English author of recognized scientific standing. 



THE DUST MULCH IN MINNESOTA. 



W. W PENDEROAST, HUTCHINSON. 



Notwithstanding the adverse reports that occasionally come to 

 us from farmers andgardeners whose experiments have, for some 

 reason, proved unsatisfactory, both winter and summer, mulching 

 will continue. As so much has been written and said about the 

 winter protection of trees, shrubs and plants, I shall try to confine 

 myself to summer cultivation and the subject assigned. Although 

 the fact is now clearly established tha^ in the production of staple 

 crops and commodities now in demand the world over and command- 

 ing a market anywhere Minnesota stands at the head, it is also 

 true that she, too, has her drawbacks. I do not refer to the cold 

 winters, for there are few, if any, states in the Union that can boast 

 of such pleasant, exhilarating, healthful winter weather as we have 

 here. Sometimes, too, we hear complaints about the high winds, 

 alleged to be very disagreeable, but there is little ground for this 

 complauit, for the actual fact is that the average velocity of the 



