31 



the reason? Then, after that, the next year or so the trees 

 didn't blossom remarkably full — but during the blosson 

 time the weather was fine, just as sunny, without any wind, 

 everything warm and nice, and the blossoms were not thick 

 on the trees at all, but it seemed as if every blossom pro- 

 duced three or four apples ; the trees were loaded. It was 

 nice weather while they were in blossom anl I am more con- 

 cerned with the week that the trees are in blossom, in regard 

 to my crop, than I am any other time in the year. If I have 

 good, mild weather, simny, while they are in blossom, the 

 fruit sets; if it is dull, rainy, it don't. 



But we have one thing in our favor: All the blossoms 

 don't open at once, and one lot may be killed and not set 

 and the next lot will come out all right, so that I think that 

 without the agency of the insects we would have very little 

 fruit. That is my experience. That is what I say from 

 what I have seen. 



The President. Might I a.sk Mr. Clark how many hives 

 of bees he has in his orchard? 



Mr. Clark. They vary; there are 18 or 20 there now, 

 ,or there were last fall. 



The President. xVbout two thousand trees? 



Mr. Clark. About that. 



Mr. Eace. Couldn't the weather do just what you 

 claim for the bees, because the weather being damp the pol- 

 len couldn't fly? Couldn't you apply that the same as you 

 apply it to the bees? 



Mr. Clark. I will answer that by stating what oc- 

 curred three or four miles out of where I live. I have had 

 bees there for years, and I found one year when there was 

 a cold Aveek, ver^^ little sun, the trees right near the bees 

 bore a good crop. Those just outside, say half a mile, had 

 nothing, but around where they were the apples set well 

 and had a good crop. But the bees wouldn't fly the dis- 

 tfiuce away from the hive to fertilize the other trees. 



The President. I hardly like to interupt this interest- 

 ing discussion, but we have another paper. The next 

 speaker is Mr. H. J. Wilder, Soil Expert of the National De- 

 partment of Agriculture who will discuss "Soils and their 

 relations to varieties." 



Mr. Wheeler. Before Mr. Wilder speaks I think there 



