1S87 



GLEANINGS IN 13EE CULTURE. 



oOl 



found that the froubk- with the Wonlen iind Belin- 

 da came from their eraekmy: open; hut for a time 

 the work on the others l)atHed me, for it was not 

 until I had neai-ly made nj) my mind that the bees 

 were the real olfctidcrs that l' discovered the trnth 

 in the case. How 1 knew that the two above-named 

 kinds cracked open was, that I found scores of 

 them so cracked early on dewy mornings, before 

 the bees had touched them, while the rupture was 

 yet fresh, jiiving- these a very dilferent appearance 

 from that of those worked upon by the bees the 

 day before. If I had not examined them thus ear- 

 ly, I should not have detected the cause; for by 

 lb o'clock the bees were so thick on them that I 

 could see no ditferenee between the old and newly 

 cracked ones. But when I came to apply the crack- 

 ing- test to the rest of the grapes it failed to reveal 

 that such was the cause of the trouble. I examin- 

 ed the bunches of t;rapes very carefully in early 

 morning:, but found all sound, except those worked 

 upon previously, and ag-ain at ID o'clock I watched 

 the same bunches and could not discover any thing 

 different, except that bees were all over them, 

 snckinff at the ruptured ones which I had marked 

 in the morning-, while on the next morning: I found 

 that many more of the grapes had been worked up- 

 on after my 10 o'clock examination. I expected, of 

 course, if the bees were the offenders that they 

 would tear the grapes open when they first came 

 on them, while they were huug-ry, so did not watch 

 in the afternoon. 



After finding- that there was no mistake in that 

 the bunches of grapes were gradually being eaten 

 up, 1 began to watch all day, reasoning that the 

 bees, after sucking those dry which were open at 

 10 A. M., would tear open others, and I wished if 

 possible to detect them at it. After watching all 

 the forenoon 1 became almost discouraged; but at 

 about 1 p. M., T saw on a bunch of grapes a stinging 

 wasp, such as build paper nests in nooks and 

 crannies about our buildings. In a moment more 

 I saw this wasp bite a triangular piece of skin out 

 of a sound grape, and go to sucking the juice from 

 it. The bees now tried to get at the ruptured place, 

 but the wasp kept them away with its feet, so that 

 in no case did 1 see a wasp and the bees getting 

 juice from the same grape. I soon saw more 

 wasps, so that by two o'clock I judged that at least 

 100 grapes had been oi>ened on a single vine. At 

 about three o'clock all the wasps had gone, and the 

 l)ees were having a good time at the grapes which 

 the wasps had ruptured, but in not a single instance 

 could I detect a bee opening a grape, although the 

 bees ran frantically over the grapes in search of 

 places from which to get the juice. 



Later on I detected the work of mice on one vine 

 which stood near a pile of rubbish, the mice seem- 

 ing not only to like the sweet juice of the Agawam* 

 grape, but the seeds as well. It was easy to tell 

 the work of the mice, for they tore open nearly 

 every grape of the bunch worked upon. This gave 

 the bees a fine chance on such bunches the next 

 day. Thus after carefully watching all fruits 

 worked upon by the bees, and in these cases of the 

 grapes nearly deciding against tliese industrious 

 insects, I wish to place it upon record that, so far, 

 I have found the bee innocent, and do not believe a 

 bee ever attacked sound fruit, although I allow 

 that it could be so, if it had been ordained that it 

 should thus get its living. It seems to me that it 

 must be plain to all, that the bee was created for 

 the fertilization of flowers, and that the honey was 

 placed in there to attract the bees for that sole pur- 

 pose; for all trees and plants capable of self-fertili- 

 zation secrete no honey, as all will find if they give 

 the subject close attention. G. M. D()Ol.ittIjE. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



The above gives some liglit on the sub- 

 ject, but still it leaves the impression that 

 l)ees are not much to blame in the matter — 

 they work only on grapes that have been 

 tirst spoiled by other insects. The question 

 then arises, Are bees really a hindrance to 

 grape-growing V that is, do they damage 

 grapes that otherwise would have been sala- 

 ble V It seems to me. the bees are still a 

 little more to blame than even friend l)oo- 

 little puts it. I have seen clusters of grapes 

 that looked tolerably fair before the bees 

 had been ovei- them ; but after they had 



covered the bunches up, and fought over 

 them, there was not much of any thing left. 

 I can not say now that wasps were not the 

 cause of their destruction, as in the case 

 friend 1). mentions ; but I hardly think they 

 have ((Iwdi/s been present when grapes have 

 been entirely used up by the bees. 



ALSIKE CLOVEK. 



PHOF. COOK OFFERS SOME SUGGESTIONS RELATIVE 

 TO THE DISPUTE BETAVEF.N MUTH AND CORY. 



Tlor»ITOK GLEANINdS:— As per your request on 

 pi) page 428, I will write a word as to the matter 

 l^'j' of alsike clover. I will first quote from Dr. 

 •*" W. J. Deal's new work on grasses, which, Mr. 

 Editor, I think you ought to keep in stock, 

 and, with the many other valuable works which you 

 sell in that line, distribute it among your many pa- 

 trons. I assure you, as we should expect from the 

 author, it is a most valuable work. Dr. Beal, under 

 the head of "Alsike Clover," after describing the 

 plant, with a good ilhistration, says: "Found in 

 Europe, North Africa, West Asia: introduced into 

 North America. Its common name is derived from 

 a iiarish in Sweden. In appearance it is so nearly 

 intermediate between red and white clover that 

 Linn.eus supposed it was a hybrid, and hence its 

 specific name— T*-i/o;u/»» lujhridunu Linn. It is not 

 a hybrid. Alsike likes rather moist land containing 

 some clay. It is smoother and more delicate than 

 red clover, and the stems are weaker — so much so 

 that it is quite likely to lodge. The stem remains 

 green after seeding. It stands dry weather well, is 

 not apt to winter-kill, the flowers continue for a 

 long time, and abound in nectar, which can be 

 reached by honey-bees. Alsike clover has a good 

 reputation for pasture, and is a favorite with bee- 

 keepers. It frequently yields from 3 to 8 bushels of 

 seed to the acre, and these are only half the size of 

 those of red clover, hence only half as much seed is 

 sown to the acre. The seed is produced from the 

 first crop, though it is often pastured a while early 

 in the season. It is two or three years in coming to 

 full size, and does best for pasture when sown with 

 some stout grasses. The after-math is very light. 

 When ripe it shells more easily than red clover, and 

 is more apt to waste, hence more care is needed in 

 the harvesting." 



No one will question such an authority, and hence 

 the idea of atavism, to account for the phenomenon 

 as explained by Mr. Muth, is at once set aside. 



As alsike is a distinct species, and not a hybrid, a 

 variation so marked that any one would mistake it 

 for red clover is not w-ithin the range of possibili- 

 ties; at least, it so occurs to me. Again, the seed is 

 very different — as Dr. Beal says, only half as large. 

 Mr. Muth also makes this evident. Still, the aver- 

 age man has rarely had his observing faculties so 

 cultivated that he might not make a mistake. A 

 dealer like Mr. Muth, or a scientist like Dr. Beal, 

 could not be deceived, while a farmer might quite 

 likely not note the difference. Many of us, having 

 eyes, see not, especially little things. 



Again, red clover and alsike clover are very close- 

 ly related; and granting the seed to be equallj' 

 good in each case, we might safely conclude that 

 conditions that would lead the seeds of one to ger- 

 minate and grow would alsoeft'ect a like result with 

 the other. If the seeds were all good, my observa- 



