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portion of the orchard was protected from the prevailing 

 winds on the north and west by a hill while the more dis- 

 tant part of the orchard was windswept. Furthermore, 

 three or four hundred feet from the fruiting part of the 

 orchard were six or seven colonies of bees. The season 

 was adverse while the trees were in bloom: spring show- 

 ers prevented the bees from constant activity. It may be 

 seen then, that between showers the bees had an oppor- 

 tunity to fly forth and visit only the nearest and protect- 

 ed part of the orchard. Showers came up, the bees were 

 driven back to the hives; thus they alternated between the 

 hives and the nearby trees. 



Among cranberry growers it has been observed that 

 certain portions of a bog sometimes bear heavy crops while 

 a certain corner of the field bears only partially. Inquiry 

 has shown that that part of the field which bears only par- 

 tially is obstructed by a windbreak or undergrowth which 

 hindered the bees from visiting it. The flight of the bees 

 is steered away. It is common experience of bee-keepers, 

 that a hill or shelter belt frequently acts as a barrier to 

 bee-flight, materially changing their course. 



Similarly, the writer has observed a large cherry tree 

 adjacent to or beneath which were bees. That part of the 

 tree which was shielded in the west by a house, invariably 

 fruited while in years when adverse weather conditions 

 prevailed during the blossoming, the upper part of the tree, 

 luishielded, did not bear so freely. Here enters another 

 factor, also. Cherries, and sometimes other fruits, hold 

 their petals only for a short interval. Hence, an import- 

 ance of bees to accomplish quick work. 



A significant observation comes from the west. Two 

 apple orchards were isolated in potholes or valleys. Dur- 

 ing several years the owner was baffled to know why one 

 of these orchards under exactly similar conditions as the 

 other, fruited heavily, ^he other not bearing fruit. The 

 contrast was so marked and the reason for failure so ob- 

 scure, that the orchardist called in the state entomologist. 

 A thorough examination could not reveal why there should 

 have been failure in one case and an ample crop in the oth- 

 er. Upon leaving one of the orchards and without having 

 satisfactorily accounted for the success or failure, the ento- 

 moligist came upon a fallen log on the edge of the orchard. 

 In this log was a colony of bees. It is needless to say that 

 it was this orchard Avbicli bore fruit abundantlv; the oth- 



