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little bit ahead of the pears and it continued to blossom until 

 the last of the season of the pear blossoms, and the bees be- 

 gan to work on the rape and they seemed to continue to 

 work on it, and we had no pears. We set the orchard with 

 special reference to crossing by the use of Bartletlis and 

 Seckles and others all through the orchard, but still we had 

 no pears to speak of. 



MR. PURRINGTON. The gentleman's observations 

 seem to have covered that point pretty closely. I am only an 

 amateur naturalist, but I am sure that the bees will leave 

 everything else for fruit blossoms. They will leave the 

 dandelion, they will leave the honey locust, which is very 

 attractive to them, and go to the fruit blossoms, so that T 

 should say that in almost every case they would take the 

 fruit blossom rather than anything else. They will leave 

 honey exposed in the field, or .syrup, and go to the fruit 

 blossom in preference. 



PROF. SEARS. You will have to get a pear with a 

 yellow blossom. (Laughter.) 



PROF. CHENOWETH. I may be able to add a little 

 to this. The pear blossom has a little offensive odor, and 

 when the apples come into blossom bees will leave the pear 

 and go to the apples. The possibilities are that this rape 

 appealed more to them than the pears did. 



MR. NORMAN. I had gone away from the place dur- 

 ing the pear blossoming period and I had no personal 

 observation of it, but the men said the bees were thick in 

 the rape when we supposed they would be thick on the pears. 



MR. PURRINGTON. Then the rape spoiled the pears. 



PROF. BROOKS. I would like to add a word which 

 bears on this subject. Bees know their business thoroughly, 

 and they never fail to work on what gives the most product 

 for a given amount of exertion. They don't hesitate to 

 change at once. Now, red clover contains much more nectar 

 than does alsike. Ordinarily, as one of the speakers has 

 said, the bees cannot reach it, but in those days which make 

 humanity "wish it could take off its flesh and sit in its 

 bones," when the air is full of humidity, when there is no 

 wind and the weather is hot day and night, and the red 

 clover is in bloom, then the nectar rises up high in these 



