224 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



HONEYBEES AS POLLINIZERS.-A VALUABLE 

 ADJUNCT TO THE HORTICULTURIST. 



MRS. SUSAN M. HOWARD. 



Treating the subject as a fruit grower as well as a bee- 

 keeper enables the writer to appreciate the inestimable value 

 of the honeybee as a pollinizer of certain grains, small fruits, 

 vegetables and tree fruits. The discussion is attempted in 

 plain terms without resorting to confusing botanical techni- 

 calities. The writer will feel amply repaid if the article is 

 stimulative of even a minor inquiry into the w^ays of bee 

 nature. 



To-day the honeybee is more and more considered an in- 

 valuable ally of the farmer. The orchardist and small fruit 

 grower consider their colonies as a part of their equipment, 

 and their use as much a factor in the success of horticulture 

 as is cultivation, application of fertilizers, the growing of 

 cover crops, pruning, spraying and the like. To the farmer, 

 especially if he be a fruit grower, a honey crop may be re- 

 garded as secondary, or as a by-product, while to the bee- 

 keeper it is the primary product. Thus while the ultimate 

 aims of the horticulturist and beekeeper may be different, 

 yet they are interdependent. 



While the orchardist may profit by the visits of bees from 

 near-by apiaries, or from a wild colony in a tree, roof or 

 chimney, yet the uncertainty of their service is so great that 

 the forehanded fruit grower provides a sufficient number of 

 colonies at hand and among his trees. In this connection it 

 may be said that it is not absolutely necessary to place the 

 colonies actually in the orchard, yet they should be not far 

 distant. Uurthermore, the location of the bees should not 

 prevent satisfactory cultivation. 



