, 38 



hairy tongue he goes around in the little tube and sweeps 

 up the moisture :nto a little globule. That is nectar. It 

 isn't honey. It is raw; it is not particularly pleasing to the 

 taste, and that is what he carries away, I never heard of 

 its bfing termed robbing of the blossom, 



MR, RACE, And it don't spoil the fruit? 



MR, PTjRRlNGTON, Oh, it adds to the fruit, 



MR. RACE. There is the essence of something that 

 they take away, that they call honey, and if it is there, it 

 must be essential for something. I don't know much about 

 it, only it strikes me that they might rob the flower and per- 

 haps destroy it. 



MR. PURRINGTON, Oh, no. It is only like taking 

 the fragrance from the violet, 



PROP, SEARS. That tree has got sense enough to 

 know that it is a good thing to have bees, and it puts the 

 honey there to induce them to come there. (Applause). 



MR. RACE. Well, we will accept that. 



PROF, SEARS. I now have the pleasure of introducing 

 to you the next speaker of the afternoon, Mr. E. M. Nichols, 

 who will address you upon the subject "Beginning with 

 Bees and How to Secure Stock." (Applause). 



BEGINNING WITH BEES AND HOW TO SECURE 

 STOCK 



Mr. E. M, Nichols, Lyonsville. 



It is a habit to regard bee-keeping from the commercial 

 standpoint and measure its profits solely by the amount of 

 honey produced thus many of us have overlooked the real 

 mission of the honey-bee in life, which is properly to pollen- 

 ize blossoms. 



From an entirely mistaken notion that bees puncture 

 fruit, some fruit growers have been opposed to the keeping 

 of bees by their neighbors, and little knew that by so doing 

 they were injuring their own best interests. If for no other 

 reason than to insure the proper fertilization of fruit and 

 other blossoms, every farmer, fruit grower or gardener 

 should keep a few colonies of bees upon his grounds. 



