624 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Report of the Indiana State 

 15ee-Keeper§' Convention. 



Written for the American Bes Journal 

 BY WALTER S. POUDER. 



(Continued from page 594.) 

 SECOND DAY— Morning Session. 



Pres. Russell — We will now listen to an 

 essay by Dr. J. M. Hicks, of Indianap- 

 olis, on the subject of 



Relation of Bees to Horticulture. 



I believe that a very important ques- 

 tion has been put into very poor hands 

 for discussion. The subject is one, at 

 least, that I am unequal to present in 

 the light that I would like to, but if you 

 will bear with me in my imperfections, I 

 will do the best I can. 



The relation bees hold in the proper 

 and successful management of horticul- 

 ture has never been very well under- 

 stood in this country, except by a few of 

 the most successful fruit-growers. Yet, 

 nevertheless, there is a natural law that 

 governs and controls those fixed princi- 

 cles in the economy of nature ; in the 

 proper fertilization of fruits, both large 

 and small, in order to carry out her 

 plans that all may be equally benefited, 

 both rich and poor alike. How beauti- 

 fully we see and realize the fact that 

 bees are the sure messengers in assist- 

 ing horticulture and the horticulturist 

 in reaping and gathering a bountiful 

 crop of fruits, as well as many of the 

 various grains and seeds of the land. 

 The intimate connection of bees with 

 Nature's elegancies — flowers — is an as- 

 sociation which links them agreeably to 

 our regard, for each suggests the other, 

 the vivacity and animation and music 

 giving variety to that which might 

 otherwise pall by beautiful but inani- 

 mate attractions. When combined with 

 this the services bees perform in their 

 eager pursuits, our admiration extends 

 beyond them to their great Originator, 

 who, by such apparently small means, 

 accomplished so simply, yet so com- 

 pletely, a.most important object pf crea- 

 tion. 



That bees were kept and cultivated 

 by man in the earliest conditions of his 

 existence, possibly whilst his yet limited 

 family was still occupying the primitive 

 cradle of the race at Hindoo Koosh, or 

 on the fertile slopes of the Himalayas, 

 or upon the more distant table-land or 

 plateau of Thibet, or in the more ver- 

 dant valleys of Cashmere, or wherever 

 it might have been, somewhere widely 

 away from the Caspian sea in an east- 

 ern direction, it is a very probable sup- 

 position. Thence ensues the fair deduc- 

 tion that phanerogamous, or flower-bear- 

 ing, plants existed, and bees conse- 

 quently necessarily too ; thus partici- 

 pating in reciprocal advantages, they 

 receiving from the plants sustenance, 

 and at the same time giving them fer- 

 tility. Both to the horticulturist and to 

 the florist is seen their valuable assist- 

 ance in procuring remunerative returns. 



Thus we see that the Great Architect 

 of the Universe has given to man the 

 bees as a valuable co-worker in perfect- 

 ing his wonderful designs in Nature, 

 which are for the good of all concerned. 

 It is also equally true that if it were not 

 for the valuable aid that the bees and 

 some other insects perform in fertilizing 

 many of the blooms of fruit-trees and 

 garden plants, we should soon be found 

 wanting in a proper supply of fruit and 

 seeds, in carrying on the laudable busi- 

 ness of horticulture, as well as fail in 

 having seeds of a good quality at plant- 

 ing time. 



Then let me ask, would it not be good 

 policy for all who wish to succeed in the 

 one to also at least provide a few colo- 

 nies of bees to aid in carrying on the 

 other ? I have no long-spun theories to 

 offer as to the necessity of all who can 

 do so to keep a few colonies of bees ; 

 but it is a well-known fact that many of 

 our vegetables, such as cucumbers, to- 

 matoes, and other garden products are 

 greatly aided by the work of the bees in 

 visiting each blooming plant, which is 

 sure to exchange pollen from one to 

 another, and thus aiding the tiller of 

 the soil as God's grand work in matur- 

 ing and furnishing a bountiful crop to 

 the husbandman as well as much aid to 

 the horticulturist. 



I trust that I have at least mentioned 

 a few points that may be of some interest 

 to those of our bee-keepers who may 

 wish in the future to manage bees in 

 connection with horticulture, for herein 

 lies a grand truth that the two are 

 directly and intimately connected with 

 and depend largely upon eaih other. 



Dr. J. M. Hicks. 



