107 



■under ordinary conditions you will get plenty of interpol- 

 ienation and probably get plenty of it on the Baldwins, if 

 your orchard is solidly planted with Baldwins only. At 

 the same time, I have a feeling that a man is neglecting one 

 of his chances unless he makes some effort to interplant 

 other varieties blooming at the same time. I have that 

 feeling and I notice those commercial men, who have 

 thought deeply over it, feel the same thing; so I am satisfied 

 that on general principles it is the proper thing to do. 

 Certain varieties have a very short blooming season, pos- 

 sibly five or six days, and during that time you may have 

 some wet times. 



That makes me come to the subject of the discussion 

 that was held yesterday, as to the necessity of having or 

 not having bees. During these short blooming seasons 

 you may have times of sunshine and then fog and then ab- 

 sence of mist and I don't feel satisfied that you are going 

 to get the best results unless you have a host of these little 

 fellows working for you; and if you can artificially intro- 

 duce a lot of bees that is very nice. If you could control or 

 produce conditions it would be very well, but if we can 

 let's do so. Many forms of insect do the same work, many 

 of the lesser bees, and beetles and bugs and the wind. 



Mr. Race. Do the bees and the butterflies and those 

 things work in unseasonable weather when the blossoms 

 are wet. 



Mr. Smith. No, they do not. On the other hand, I be- 

 lieve this: I would take chances and feel more safe if T 

 had an abundance of bees and had them distributed 

 through various orchards, and I would like it much better. 

 Of course, where the sunshine comes through a haze and it 

 is overcast and cold, the bees are chilled and driven back, 

 but I believe the chances are better to have them at it. Bees 

 get out very quickly; as soon as the sun shines on them 

 they are out and active. 



A Member. Are you troubled with the black smut on 

 your Northern Spies? 



Mr. Smith. If you mean that fungus that comes on in 

 the fall, that seems to be less than skin deep, so fine a film 

 that you can by hard rubbing rub it off, I will say yes, we 

 are. I would like to explain to you what you may not 

 know, that we are located within four miles of the seashore 

 and during the fall we get day after day of damp morn- 



