720 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15. 



sure to me to meet you and taken you to see 

 Mr. High's fruit. You would have found his 

 peach-orchard cultivated with the same care 

 that you found on Catawba Island, and loaded 

 with like beautiful fruit; and, in addition to 

 peaches, you would have found splendid ap- 

 ples, pears, and plums, to say nothing of a 

 beautiful well-loaded vineyard with some hun- 

 dred or more varieties of grapes. And these 

 were grown without the aid of bees or other 

 insects to fertilize the bloom. 



When Mr. High's attention was called to the 

 discussion of this matter of fei tilization he be- 

 came quite interested in the subject, and 

 watched the bloom upon his fruit-trees very 

 closely to see if lie could discover any insects 

 upon them. Bees, he knew, never visited his 

 island. He made it a point to examine his 

 peach-trees three times a day, but could not 

 find any insects of any kind on the bloom. He 

 thinks that, if you should visit his trees when 

 in bloom, as you suggest you would be willing 

 to do, you would have to bring more powerful 

 magnifying-glasses than your spectacles, to 

 tind any insects. 



Did you think to inquire whether bees were 

 kept on Catawba Island? But even if they 

 were, we know that there are no bees on some 

 of the other islands where fruit is grown in the 

 same perfection as on Catawba Island. Mr. 

 High's evidence shows that other insects had 

 but little to do with the matter. But Prof. 

 Cook, long ago, in his zeal to show that bees 

 are necessary, gave this " otlier insect" theory 

 a black eye by showing that there are compar- 

 atively very few or no insects flying as early in 

 the season as early fruit-bloom, in a northern 

 country like this. 



It is very hard to convince some people 

 against their will or their interest. I have long 

 since decided, by close observation and careful 

 experiment, that bees do not injure perfectly 

 sound fruit, particularly grapes, which are my 

 specialty. I made a visit to my old home in 

 Kentucky this spring, where I met an old friend 

 — a bank cashier, but an amateur grape-grower 

 and gardener. His grapes, of several varieties, 

 were beautifully cared for, and bore well; but 

 he said that he could get but little good of 

 them, as the bees ate them all up. Of course, I 

 look issue with him, and we had quite a dis- 

 cussion over the matter. " Why," said he, 

 "don't I know? When I covered the grapes 

 .with netting I saved them from the bees ! " 



"My friend," said 1, "don't you know that, 

 when you covered your grapes, you kept the 

 birds and wasps from them also?" 



I had endeavored to show him that the 

 grapes were punctured by birds or wasps before 

 the bees visited them; but no arguments or 

 facts could convince him that the bees were 

 not the real depredators, and he even went so 

 far as to believe ihat he was justified in de- 

 stroying them. 



Like this friend, some are saying, "Don't 

 I know that bees are necessary to fertilize 

 fruit? because, the season that we had a cold 

 wet spell during fruit-bloom the bees could not 

 fly, and we had no fruit that year!" — forget- 

 ting the fact that every intelligent fruit-grower 

 ought to know, that cold wet weather prevents 

 pollen from being disseminated in the natural 

 way. We jump at conclusions without giving 

 due weight to all the facts and evidence in the 

 case. The evidence in favor of the bees is en- 

 tirely of a negative character, while there are 

 many positive facts to show that fruit has been 

 produced, plentifully and good, where there 

 were no bees. But it is was not my intention 

 to discuss this matter. I started out only to 

 call attention to the fruit oa islands where 

 there are no b» es. 



You kindly mentioned in Gleanings, that I 

 was a reader of it when printed by wind power. 

 Yes, my interest in you and your writings goes 

 still further back — to the days when "Novice" 

 wrote for the old American Bee Journal. You 

 remember the exciting discussions we used to 

 have on the " hive question." I remember the 

 interest I felt in your account of the abscond- 

 ing swarm with the queen called the"GUnt- 

 ess," etc. I have read your writings fi urn them 

 up to the present time, so closely that i feel 

 not only that 1 was acquainted with you, but 

 that you were an old friend, and that I knew 

 all the family. 



Pelee Island, Ont., Can., Aug. 3.5. 



^ I ^ 



WORK IN THE APIARY. 



A PEKFECT SYSTEM OF KEEPING TRACK OF IT. 



By Win. Muth-Rasmu><scn. 



When a bee-keeper has many colonies to at- 

 tend to, it will not dj to go by guesswork or to 

 trust to memory; neither does it pay to spend 

 time examining colonies that do not at present 

 need any attention. The bee-keeper should at 

 all times know the condition of each colony, its 

 special requirements, and the exact time when 

 It ought to be attended to. 



I formerly used slates on the hives; but as my 

 colonies increased in number I found the slates 

 unsatisfactory for this purpo>e. I now use 

 them only on the supers, simply writing the 

 date of the last emptying or examination on the 

 slate, while its position on the hive-cover indi- 

 cates what I want to remember. To prevent it 

 from being moved by the wind or other acci- 

 dent, I drive a one-inch wire nail through the 

 hole in the slate. The nail is easily moved, 

 when required, with a little magnetic lack- 

 hanimer. I write the date on both sides of the 

 slate, for fear that a shower may obliterate the 

 writing on the upper side. It is quickly done; 

 as, for instance, " { " means J uly 1. 



Having had, during the last two years, to 

 requeen a large number of colonies, I liave de- 



