REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 339 



ripe c^rapes are bein<^ gathered,"would result in no loss, and the bees would 

 be pre^-ented from gathering the grape juice and storing it in the hive. 

 Bees confined to their hires in warm weather must always have ample 

 top veutilation, and should be liberated and allowed to fly half an hour 

 before .sunset each day during the term of their confinement. The ex- 

 ces.sivc us«; of grape juice often produces inebriety. In the case of 

 bees it prod aces diarrhea. After grapes have arrived at the stage of 

 ovenipeness and decay in which it is possible for bees to injure them, 

 and the circumstances are so exceptional as to cause the bees to seek 

 .-^lH•h food, it would be advantageous to the grape-grower to secure his 

 uiupys from the ravages of decay, and advantageous to the bee-keeper 

 »to secure his bee^ from the ravages of disease. 



The following-named varieties of grapes were used in making these 

 tests : The Niagara, Delaware, Roger's No. 10, Eoger's No. 14, Roger's 

 No. 15. Roger's No. —.Taylor, Ives, Lady, Hartford, Martha, Concord, 

 Northern Muscadine, Vergennes, Brighton, Pocklington, Worden, Isa- 

 bella, Diana, and Syrians from California, and three other varieties the 

 names of which I did not learn. 



Mr. Richard Rees, a florist and horticulturist of many years' erperi- 

 enco in the Eastern and Western States, informs me that he has very 

 carefully observed the effect of bees upon flowers and fruits in the or- 

 chard, garden, and greenhouse. He regards their presence as wholly 

 desirable and altogether beneficial. Daring a term of four years he 

 had charge of a large conservatory and garden in this city. At times 

 he had as many as fourteen different varieties of exotic grapes in bear- 

 ing in the conservatory, and from 2 to 3 tons of ripe grapes hanging 

 on the vines at once. A large apiary was located near by, and late in 

 the fall and early in spring the flowers and fruits in the conservatory 

 were visited by the bees in great numbers. The grapes were unmolested, 

 and the bees aided in fertilizing the flowers. He says that he has had 

 large experience in grape- growing in vineyards, and that he has never 

 known any damage or loss resulting from bees, and that when grapes 

 are burst from overripeness, or decayed and blighted by the hatching 

 of insect larvae, to such an extent that bees can appropriate their juices, 

 they are of little, if any, value. He has never kept any bees, but ho 

 regards them as being of great service to floriculturists and horticult- 

 urists on account of the service rendered in fertilizing blossoms. 



ARTrPIOIAI. FEETILIZATION. 



Since we began this work we have given much thought and labor to 

 experiments in methods of artificial fertilization. 



No other branch of apicultural experiment possesses the same scien- 

 tific interest or practical value to the industry of bee-keeping. 



Ever since the art of bee-keeping began to bo practiced upon scientific 

 principles, the value of exact knowledge and perfect control of the pro- 

 cess of fecundation has been recognized. 



In 1846 an able German apiarist wrote: "If it were possible to as- 

 certain the reproductive process of bees with as much certainty as that 

 of our domestic animals, bee culture might unquestionably be pur- 

 sued with positive assurance of profit, and would assume a high rank 

 among the various branches of rural economy." 



And in a current number of one of the most progressive bee journals, 

 a prominent writer on apiculture says : " The apiarist who finds out a 

 sure, safe, and certain method of controlling fecundation as it is con- 

 trolled in the animal kingdom, will confer a great and lasting blessing 



