600 



TMM MMMmicMH MMM j©Jsmnmi^, 



in the form of a thin filament, enters 

 the cavity of the ovary, and finds the 

 oi'ifice of an ovule, and, guided by 

 some mysterious jet unerring power, 

 makes its waj- to the embrj'o-sac which 

 contains the bioplasmic something that 

 we have called the germ-cell, or female 

 element of life, and they immediately 

 form a union. 



Movement, growth, and cell forma- 

 tion commences, for all plant substance 

 is onlj' a multiplication of cells, and 

 thus is formed the fruit and seed in 

 which lies beautifully folded the em- 

 bryo plautlet of the future tree, bush, 

 vine, or whatever it may be. 



THE POLLINATION OF FLOWERS. 



So far we have not seen any use for 

 the busy bee ; but some plants are so 

 arranged that the process of pollina- 

 tion is more complicated, though the 

 act of impregnation or fertilization is 

 the same after the pollen reaches the 

 stigma. They are so constructed that 

 the pollen cannot reach the stigma, 

 even though in the same flower. 



Then again, the pollen-dust of some 

 flowers is so constituted as to be of no 

 use to the pistil of its own flower. In 

 a great number of flowers the stamens 

 and pistils are not fully developed at 

 the same time. Then, many plants 

 have two kinds of flowers — one kind 

 with stamens onlj', and the other with 

 pistils only, and sometimes these 

 flowers are on entirely difi'erent plants. 

 So that there seems to be a great many 

 things in the way of the plant doing 

 the very thing that is essential to the 

 fulfillment of its being, and we must 

 look for some other agency to bring 

 these two elements together, or secure 

 what we have called the pollination of 

 the flower. 



But, you say, if everything is ar- 

 ranged in nature to be in harmony 

 and woi'k perfectly, why were they not 

 both always placed on the same plant 

 and in the same flower, where they 

 could not fail to come in contact ? 

 This brings us to another and very 

 important part of our subject. Not 

 only pollination is desired, but pollina- 

 tion in such a way as to secure cross- 

 fertilizntion, and thus prevent what the 

 stockmen call " in-and-in breeding." 

 Just here comes in the work of the 

 bees. In their visits to the flowers 

 they carry pollen from flower to 

 flower, and thus do for the plant that 

 which it cannot do for itself. This ex- 

 plains why the plant secretes the nec- 

 tar and throws out many other induce- 

 ments to insects, principally bees, to 

 pay it a visit. 



The importance of cross-fertilization 

 is not to be underrated in discussing 

 this question of the benefit of bees to 

 the plant. Mr. Darwin has shown, bj' 

 a long series of experiments, that self- 



fertilized plants, that is, fertilized by 

 their own pollen, are generally very 

 much inferior in vigor and power of 

 constitution to those that are cross- 

 fertilized. So, you see, if we are to 

 have healthy and fruitful plants and 

 trees, we must avail ourselves of the 

 work of the bees. 



Many fruit-growers and gardeners 

 have been aware of these facts and 

 made use of them. We are informed 

 that the gardeners in the vicinity of 

 Boston keep bees that they may secure 

 the perfect fertilization of their fruit 

 and plants. 



Mr. A. I. Root found a green-house 

 in New York where bees were kept at 

 work all winter to save the otherwise 

 laborious and expensive mode of hand- 

 fertilization. The experience of the 

 Australians with red clover, and the 

 fact that they imported bumble-bees 

 to secure its fertilization, is no doubt 

 familiar to you all. 



Darwin long ago made mention of 

 the fact that the Isees were necessary 

 to a good crop of clover seed. He 

 threw out the following suggestions 

 why better clover seed could be secured 

 near a city : 



The greatest enemy to the bumble- 

 bee is the field mouse. If the mice 

 are kept at bay the bumble-bee will 

 flourish. In cities more cats are kept 

 than in the country, and they are the 

 enemies of the mice. Some fearless 

 wag has suggested that a city which 

 contains an unusual number of maiden 

 ladies, who are said to favor cats, will 

 be still better than one without them. 

 The inference is, if you want to secure 

 plenty of red clover seed, go near a 

 city where there is a supei'abundance 

 of old maids ! 



Some one may ask why this mixing 

 up of the pollen of various plants will 

 not create great confusion in the veg- 

 etable kingdom, by the production of 

 hybrids, etc. It was observed by 

 Aristotle more than 2,000 years ago 

 that bees visit the flowers of the same 

 species as long as they can. This has 

 been confirmed by the observations and 

 writings of many in modern times. 

 The bees work only on one kind of a 

 flower at a time. 



INSECT FERTILIZATION OF BLOSSOMS. 



I am well aware that the wind and 

 other insects are a great aid to plants, 

 by waj' of securing cross-fertilization, 

 but at the same time it is quite plain 

 that if it were not for the honey-bee, 

 manj' trees and plants would bear no 

 fruit at all. ' Such fruits as cherries, 

 apples, pears, peaches, raspberries,and 

 strawberries, are almost entirely de- 

 pendent upon the bees for perfect pol- 

 lination. In the case of very early 

 cherries and apples there are no other 

 insects flying. When it is too cold 



and stormy for the bees to get out dur- 

 ing the flowering of these fruits, we 

 always have a veiy poor crop. This 

 would lead one to conclude, if we had 

 no other evidence, that the bees have 

 something to do with the production 

 of a good crop. Therefore I think we 

 have established the fact that the bees 

 are a benefit to the fruit-grower, and 

 in many ways aside from the produc- 

 tion of honey and wax. 



It is no doubt true that if more bees 

 were kept, there would be larger and 

 better crops in many an orchard and 

 garden. If it were not for the bee, 

 many a beautiful flower would fall to 

 the ground and perish without having 

 produced any fruit. In view of these 

 facts we may well change the language 

 of the poet, and make him say : 



How doth the little, busy bee 



Improve each shiDing: hour. 

 While g-athering honey every day 



To fertilize each flower. 



DO BEES INJURE FRDIT ? 



We now come to the question of 

 vital import, Do bees ever itijure fruit ? 



I am not ignorant of the fact that 

 very much has been laid to the charge 

 of the bees. We are sometimes told 

 that bees eat grapes as ravenously as 

 chickens eat worms, never stopping 

 until thej- have destroyed whole vine- 

 yards. We occasionally hear of them 

 devouring crates of peaches and vari- 

 ous other fruits. We have not had 

 any report yet as to their capacity for 

 eating corn and pumpkins ; and the 

 vines and trees after they have made 

 way with the fruits thereon ; but then 

 this is an age of discovery, and we 

 cannot tell what may come to light. I 

 am aware that bee-keepers sometimes 

 make claims that they cannot sub- 

 stantiate with the facts. 



As able and reliable a writer as 

 Prof. Cook, says in his "Manual," that 

 ' ' Bees never bore for nectar, but seek or 

 even know only of that which is fully 

 exposed.'''' However, he modifies this 

 statement by saying that Dr. C. V. 

 Riley feels sure that bees ai'e some- 

 times thus guilty. 



The prevailing testimony seems to 

 be that as a general thing bees do not 

 perforate flowers, j'et a number of 

 scientific investigators claim that they 

 do, and a bee-keeper of no less repute 

 than Mr. A. I. Root says that he saw 

 the Italians bite through the spur of a 

 wild touch-me-not. While this is true, 

 J'et it remains a question whether these 

 openings prove to be a real injury to 

 the flowers, except that they enable 

 the insect to get the nectar of the 

 flower without securing its pollination, 

 and thus the flower proves to be sterile, 

 not because the bee visited it, but be- 

 cause it did not reach the nectar in the 

 way that made it do for the flower 



