280 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



May 2, 1901. 



are a few varieties of fruit deficient in pollen, is well 

 known to all intellig-ent fruit growers, and they know 

 equally as well that it is not necessary to have bees to 

 accomplish this cross-polleuization, and do not depend upon 

 them, but successfully manage it in another way. It is 

 found that all that is necessary is, to plant these trees defi- 

 cient in pollen, near some variety that produces pollen 

 abundantly. In large orchards it is accomplisht by plant- 

 ing the different varieties in alternate strips of several 

 rows each, and thus complete pollenization is obtained with- 

 out the intervention of bees. 



A familiar illustration of where cross-fertilization is 

 sometimes necessary is found in the strawberry. Every 

 one who has planted a strawberry-bed knows that there are 

 bearing and nonbearing kinds— pistillate and staminate 

 varieties. The pistillate varieties do not bear pollen, and in 

 order to make them fruitful they must be planted near the 

 staminate or pollen-producing varieties. By planting the 

 two kinds in rows from four to six feet apart, the pistillate 

 — those without pollen— are made to bear fruit abundantly. 

 The pistillate blossoms do not produce honey or pollen, and 

 consequently are not visited by bees or other insects ; there- 

 fore they are not fertilized by' them. But suppose the bees 

 did visit them— they could carry the pollen from one to the 

 other just as easily if they were sis rods apart instead of 

 six feet. But they are barren or nearly so, if planted six 

 rods apart. But proof positive that they do not owe their 

 fruitfulness to bees is that both varieties have made fine 

 crops on these islands where there are no bees. Such a 

 fact is worth a dozen theories. If pollen can be carried in 

 the air from one to the other of these lowly plants that 

 creep upon the ground, to the distance of six feet or more, 

 and successfully fructify the bloom, could it not be carried 

 a greater distance and more successfully from the elevated 

 position on fruit-trees ? 



Growers of vegetables in greenhouses have found that 

 for want of circulation of air, some varieties of vegetables 

 did not bear well ; and some have been induced to try put- 

 ting a colony of bees in with their plants, and have found 

 some benefit from it. The benefit was not. primarily, 

 caused by the bees carrying pollen from one flower to 

 another on their legs or bodies, but was caused by the stir 

 in the air, or the little breeze, as it were, that was made by 

 the wings of the bees while gathering and transferring 

 pollen to the little receptacles on their hind legs, that dis- 

 lodged the pollen and set it in motion to be borne in the 

 air to other plants. In feeding flour to bees early in the 

 spring as a substitute for pollen, I have watcht them with 

 great interest while they were gathering and securing it in 

 their pollen-baskets. They would gather the flour with 

 their mouths and fore feet, and would sometimes wallow in 

 it and get it all over their faces and bodies, and then they 

 would rise, and with a peculiar fanning motion of their 

 wings would keep themselves poised in the air just above 

 the flour, while with their feet they were busy transferring 

 the pollen from their front feet and bodies to the pollen-bas- 

 kets, and by this motion of the wings they would create a 

 little breeze that would blow all the flour off the board upon 

 which it was fed. Pollen from flowers, whether in green- 

 house or open air. is gathered and secured in the same way 

 —placed in their pollen-baskets while on the wing, hover- 

 ing over the flower, or while going from one flower to 

 another, and as it is much lighter than wheat-flour, it is 

 more easily dislodged and blown about in the greenhouse. 



Up-to-date growers of vegetables under glass have long 

 since discovered that the dislodging of the pollen and set- 

 ting in motion could be accomplisht without bees, and was 

 equally as successful. They simply go thru the house with 

 a light stick or rod and give each plant a gentle shake and 

 the work of pollenizing is accomplisht 1 This corrobor- 

 ates my statement, that the benefit from the bees was 

 because they put the pollen in motion. 



The ways of the propagation of species in the vege- 

 table, insect or animal kingdom, is "wonderful and past 

 finding out," but it affords a theme for interesting investi- 

 gation which should be conducted in an impartial manner 

 for the purpose of arriving at the truth. It is possible and 

 I might say highly probable, that there may be some occult 

 affinity or attraction between the stigma and the pollen of 

 flowers by means of which the infinitesimal particles of 

 pollen that are always floating in the air during fruit-bloom, 

 are drawn as by a magnet, to the stigma when a short dis- 

 tance only from it ; and when we look at the results— so 

 few failures even under adverse circumstances — it seems 

 there i?iust be something of the kind. But this is specula- 

 tion, and I am set for the defense of fads. 



It is a fact that bees are seen in flowers with pollen on 



their feet and in their baskets, and they are seen to leave 

 one flower and go to another with their pollen ; but 

 who knows it to be a fact that some of this pollen 

 obtained from the first flower is left on the second one vis- 

 ited ? Is there anj' way of finding out? And if it were 

 left, do we know that this flower would not have produced 

 fruit without the visit from this bee ? I have known mill- 

 ions of flowers to produce fruit that never had a bee within 

 six miles of them. If they will produce fruit in one place 

 without bees, why not in other places? This claim is all 

 conjecture based upon preconceived theory without a knowl- 

 edge of sufficient facts to establish it as a truth ; and when 

 confronted with such undisputed facts as I have given in 

 regard to growing fruit in maximum quantities and quali- 

 ties without bees, it shows its weakness. 



Since writing the foregoing, the American Bee Journal 

 of March 14th has come to hand, containing an article on 

 this subject from Mr. G. M. Doolittle. Mr. D. represents 

 himself as discussing this subject with a neighbor who- 

 claimed that Mr. D.'s bees had injured his fruit crop by tak- 

 ing the honey from the bloom, and he wanted some of 

 Mr. D.'s nice honey to pay for the damage. Mr. D. tells 

 how he met this claim by proving to his neighbor that his 

 bees were of great benefit to his fruit, instead of being an 

 injury; and here is a sample of his proof : 



"Going back to the creation of all things, all fruit or 

 grain of any kind was an entire failure till insects were cre- 

 ated to visit the flowers which secreted nectar, while those 

 that did not secrete nectar bore fruit as perfect then as 

 to-day." 



This certainly is a new revelation as to the creation of 

 things. But Mr. D. explains that " thus far all is a matter 

 of conjecture." But nevertheless he represents himself as 

 telling it to his neighbor, supposed to be less informed 

 about such matters, as a matter of fact. With his explan- 

 ation the statement is most absurd, even as a " conject- 

 ure." 



"So far," he says, "is conjecture," and then he pro- 

 ceeds to make some other assertions in this very remark- 

 able article, that are equally as fallacious ; tho he intimates 

 that he is thru with his " conjectures," and has made na 

 further explanation. "From this I go on to explain how 

 that the first object of nectar in the flowers was not for the 

 perfecting of the fruit, or to be used as a food or luxury 

 for man, nor even to sustain the life of the bees, but as a 

 means to an end, and this end was that insects of all kinds 

 might be drawn to the flowers so secreting, that the fruit 

 or female blossoms of plants which could not possibly b& 

 fertilized in any other way, might be fertilized thru the 

 agency of insects," etc. Another new revelation — seed 

 and fruit bearing plants and trees were made, but they 

 " could not possibly be fertilized " so as to bring forth seed 

 to propagate their species until honey was placed in the 

 flowers and then bees made to go after this honey in order 

 to fructify the flowers. In the quotation given, Mr. D. 

 places " insects of all kinds " in italics, in order to empha- 

 size the assertion. If language means anything this 

 includes the festive mosquito, the agile flea, the night- 

 prowling bedbug, r/ id genus omne. This is too ridiculous 

 to require further comment. 



I have great respect for Mr. Doolittle as one of our 

 most reliable teachers and writers on bee-keeping, and 1 

 have read his articles in the bee-papers for the last quarter 

 of a century with great interest ; but when Mr. D. leaves the 

 subject with which he is familiar, and gives us such crude 

 speculation as this article contains, for matter of fact, we 

 want a more reliable teacher. 



Pelee Island, Ont., Canada. 



A Celluloid Queen=Button is a very pretty thing for a 

 bee-keeper or honey-seller to wear on his coat-lapel. It 

 often serves to introduce the subject of honey, and frequently 

 leads to a sale. 



Note.— One reader writes: '* I have every reason 

 to believe that it would be a very good idea for every 

 bee-keeper to wear one [of the buttons] as it will cause 

 people to ask questions about the busy bee. and many 

 a conversation thus started would wind up with the 

 sale of more or less honey: at any rate it would g-ive 

 the bee-keeper a superior opportunity to enlighten 

 many a person in regard to honey and bees." 



The picture shown V^^rewith is a reproduction of a motto- 

 queen-button that we have beer, furnishing to bee-keepers 

 for a long time. It has a pin on the i nderside to fasten to 

 the coat. Price, by mail, 6 cents eacii ; two for 10 cents 

 or six for 25 cents. Send all orders to tUeoffice of the Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal. 



