478 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



APICULTURE. 



JOHN TURNBULL, LA CRESCENT. 



There has been so much said on this subject by our professors 

 and others, yet with all that has been said and written on apiculture 

 there still remains doubts in the minds of many in regard to the pol- 

 lenization of flowers. 



When I moved onto my farm twenty-seven years ago, there were 

 no bees in our neighborhood. I had a very nice orchard to begin 

 with, and this seemed to take my attention more than any other thing 

 on the farm. When the apple and plum trees were in full bloom, it 

 gave a new charm to the farm, and I told my family we would have 

 lots of fruit, especially plums. A farmer from another part of our 

 valley came to see us, and the first thing I had to show him was my 

 beautiful orchard. I said "Look there; won't we have lots of plums?" 



He laughed, and said " No." 



I looked at him, and said " Why? " 



" Well," said he, "Those plum trees were taken from my farm; thej-- 

 never had any plums, neither had mine, except some little bits of 

 things that never matured." 



This took me down considerably, for this was my first attempt at 

 farming. Well, it turned out as he had said; no plums, though I 

 had a few apples. 



The next spring I was visiting some friends in Wisconsin, and I 

 bought a swarm of bees, and set them in my orchard, and when my 

 apple and plum trees blossomed out again, and the bees commenced 

 their sweet music, there was charm No. 2. Butwhatwasmy surprise 

 when I watched the falling blossoms to see the little pellets holding 

 on to the mother tree and growing larger and larger all the tiniet 

 till fine, large, ripe plums hung from every branch. The few old 

 trees that are left give us a few plums every year. This started a 

 new problem for me to work out. I might speak of others, but this 

 will suffice for the present. 



This spring(1895, opened up very favorably. Everything seemed to 

 be full of promise for a large crop of fruit.especially apples. Many of 

 my seedlings were full of blossoms, and the bees were in full 

 force and did there part well. But, alas, how little we know of the 

 future. 



On the 11th of May we started for La Crosse in the morning and 

 had to take off coat and vest, it was so warm, and before we got half 

 way we wished for an overcoat and had to borrow one to wear home. 

 From that night to the 22nd, it froze every night, and took every 

 apple — did not have one in the orchard. Plums were a fair crop; 

 raspberries and blackberries good; strawberries were poor; grapes, 

 the first bloom being killed, bloomed a second time and matured 

 most of Ihem. 



The bees came out of winter quarters in good condition, and the 

 weather in April was exceedingly favorable for them. On the 10th of 

 April they were coming in loaded with pollen, and bred up fast, and 

 were in good order and ready for white clover, but there was very 

 little white clover to work on. The dr}-- summer of '94 and close 



