16 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



January 



The results of Prof. Fink and others 

 indicate this beyond a doubt, but in 

 one of the experiments reported the 

 first tomato produced by close fertili- 

 zation contained 48 seeds, the average 

 number of seeds for the variety being 

 more than 200; the fruits were below 

 the average in size. Other observations 

 recorded by this writer indicate that 

 the size of the fruit is slightly increased 

 and that the crossed fruits have a 

 greater tendency to be irregular than 

 those not crossed. 



The various species of plums are also 

 pollinated by insects and the bee is im- 

 portant. When insects are excluded 

 fruit will not set. Prof. Waugh found 

 that out of 153 blossoms, covered, of 

 the Arkansas Lombard, no fruit set; 

 that out of 457 blossoms, covered, of 

 the wild goose (^Pru)!ns Americana), no 

 fruit set; and that out of 90 blossoms, 

 covered, of the Japanese plum (Maru), 

 no fruit set. It has long been recog- 

 nized that bees are important in the 

 pollination of the apple and pear. Ex- 

 periments made by Waite show the 

 Baldwin apples produce better fruit 

 when cross-fertilized. Waugh obtained 

 interesting results in some experiments 

 conducted in Vermont, only three ap- 

 ples having set out of 2586 blossoms 

 covered, or little more than one-tenth 

 of one percent. Of these the Baldwin, 

 Esopus, Fameuse set some fruit. These 

 varieties are generally considered more 

 or less self-fertile. 



We may conclude that bees are 

 essential for the production of a fruit- 

 and-seed crop of some agricultural 

 plants. Every horticulturist should 

 keep a few colonies of bees to insure a 

 crop of fruit. 



Ames, Iowa. 



Are 



BY W. J. SHEPPARD. 



whom the poison has absolutely no 

 effect by reason of their having been 

 stung so frequently that they have be- 

 come immune. 



The theory is supported by the state- 

 ment that French doctors advise their 

 consumptives to keep bees. If there is 

 anything in the theory a good many 

 claim that the remedy is worse than 

 the disease. This is not so, however, 

 and it is astonishing how soon one can 

 become so accustomed to being stung 

 that very little notice is taken of it. 

 Having reached this stage there is abso- 

 lutely no swelling or inconvenience 

 from the after effects. 



If after a sting is received it is rubbed 

 out quickly with the finger nail before 

 the poison bag has time to pulsate and 

 pump much of the virus into the wound 

 very little pain will be experienced, 

 and the homeopathic doses thus re- 

 ceived will in course of time cause en- 

 tire immunity, with a minimum of suf- 

 fering. 



Nelson, B. C. 



Beekeepers Immune to 

 Zymotic Diseases? 



No. 24.— The Honey-Producing 

 Plants 



BY FRANK C. PELLETT. 



Photoeraphs with this number by J. M. Btichanati 

 Franklin, Tenn. 



IN this issue we come again to the 

 South. The two trees described 

 herewith are little known except 

 in the southeastern States. 



YELLOW WOOD. 



The yellow wood, Cladrastis lulea 

 (same as Virgilia lutea), is a tree con- 

 fined to a limited range. It is found 

 principally in Kentucky, Tennessee and 

 North Carolina. While it may be found 

 to some extent in the States adjoining 

 the three mentioned, it is rare except 

 in very limited areas. It is recorded 

 as occurring on shaded bluffs in the 

 Tennessee valley in Alabama, and may 

 be looked for in similar situations in 

 Mississippi, Georgia or South Carolina. 

 The flowers are white as can be seen 



THE above is the subject of a lead- 

 ing article in a recent issue of 

 the British Bee Journal, to which 

 attention had been previously drawn by 

 a correspondent. It is stated that the 

 question is considered of such far 

 reaching importance that the Royal 

 Faculty of Medicine have asked for en- 

 quiries to be made respecting it. The 

 editor will therefore be glad to hear 

 from any person in a position to throw 

 any light on the matter. 



The theory is that people who keep 

 bees and have become immune to sting 

 poison, which is one of the strongest 

 antiseptics known, consisting of formic 

 acid with slight traces of malic and 

 other acids, become also immune from 

 cancer, consumption, neuritis, or any 

 form of zymotic disease. The infer- 

 ence is that the sting poison acts as a 

 protection against noxious germs by 

 purifying the blood, and has given rise 

 to the suggestion that zymotic diseases 

 can be prevented or warded off by in- 

 jections of a similar nature, if it can be 

 satisfactorily proven that beekeepers 

 as a whole, who have become immune 

 to the poison, are free from these dis- 

 eases. Of course, it does not apply to 

 beekeepers who habitually protect 

 themselves against stings-andlonly^get 

 lung occasionally, but to those on 



FIG. 96.-BLOSSOMS OF THE YELLOWAWOOD 



