The Canadian Horticulturist 107 



But all these are only secondary, and something the bee produces in a 

 secondary way, shall we say as a by-product. Her first object, the primary object of 

 her existence is to aid in the reproduction of plant life. The importance of the 

 honey bee in this connection is beyond dispute. Testimony from those who were 

 never financially interested, our greatest thinkers, those who have searched most 

 deeply into those intricate questions, the testimony of these is overwhelming. 

 Darwin alone has furnished sufficient evidence to satisfy almost any one. 

 Insect life is required largely to distribute the pollen from flower to flower. It may 

 be said that bees are not natural to our country, and why do we require the 

 honey bee, a stranger, to carry on this work ? Will not the insects of our country do 

 this ? The answer to such a question would be, that as at the time when our fruits 

 require fertilization and their bloom is most abundant, we have comparatively few 

 native fruit blossoms, e.g., a few wild plums, cherries and strawberries, and for 

 these our native insects might suffice. But when we come to our present condition, 

 large orchards of apple, plum, cherry, peach, pear, and again smaller fruits, we 

 have a condition not natural to our country, and an artifical condition in plant 

 life requires a correspondingly artificial condition in the insect life. This condi- 

 tion we secure by means of the honey bee. 



Of the construction of the parts of flowers I propose to speak in the next 

 issue of the Horticulturist. The evidence here is so conclusive that one 

 would really require to look no further for evidence. 



Brantford, Out. 



R. F. HOLTERMAN. 









