618 



THE AMERICAlf BEE JOURNAL. 



open the grape, although this assidu- 

 ous Utile honey worker is ready to 

 appropriate the sweet substance of 

 the grape, the peach and kindred 

 fruits, when once the skin has been 

 broken from any cause, whether on 

 account of a defect in the growth of 

 the fruit, or through disease, or by 

 reason of an excess of juices in the 

 fruit whereby the skin not being able 

 to yield sulHciently must burst, or 

 through the sting of a wasp or of 

 other insect. 



Prof. A. J. Cook, of the Michigan 

 Agricultural College, of whom we are 

 proud to say that he is one of the 

 most conscientious and thoroughly- 

 critical observers, makes these un- 

 qualified assertions : 



I have lived for some years in the 

 midst of vineyards, and where bees 

 were very numerous, but I never saw 

 bees tear open a sound grape. If bird 

 or wasp or disease break the grapes, 

 and the bees find no other stores, ttiey 

 will lap up the oozing juice. At such 

 times I have broken grapes, and when 

 they were being supped by bees, I 

 would remove them and place sound 

 grapes in their stead, when the bees 

 would at once stop work. 



Mr. N. W. McLain, in his official 

 " Report to the United States Ento- 

 mologist upon the observations and 

 experiments in the practical work at 

 the Apicultural Station in Illinois," 

 remarks as follows concerning his ex- 

 periments for testing the capacity of 

 bees to injure fruit. He says: 



The house used last season, 10 feet 

 by 16 feet in size, having sides partly 

 covered with wire cloth, and large 

 screen doors in each end, was used 

 again this year. Two colonies of 

 Italian bees, two of hybrids, one of 

 Caucasians, and two of Syrians were 

 confined in this bouse. 



These colonies were without food 

 in their hives, and at intervals of 

 three or four days were fed a little 

 syrup for the purpose of keeping up 

 their vigor, and to prevent dying from 

 starvation. A wood-stove was placed 

 in the house, and a high temperature 

 was maintained for anumberof hours 

 each day. 



The conditions incident to an un- 

 usually severe and protracted drouth 

 were present within and without. The 

 bees were repeatedly brought to the 

 stages of hunger, thirst, and starva- 

 tion, the test continuing tor 40 days. 



Through the favor of Mr. T. T. 

 Lyon,Pre8ident of the Michigan State 

 Horticultural Society, I obtained 13 

 varieties of choice grapes from A. G. 

 Gulley,of South Haven. Every in- 

 ducement and opportunity was af- 

 forded the bees to appease their hun- 

 ger and thirst by attacking the fruit 

 which was placed before them. Some 

 of the bundles of grapes were dipped 

 in syrup and hung in the hives be- 

 tween the combs, some placed before 

 the hives on plates, and grapes were 

 suspended in clusters from the posts 

 and rafters. The bees lapped and 



sucked all the syrup from the skins, 

 leaving the berries smooth. 



They daily visited the grapes in 

 great numbers, and took advantage 

 of every crack in the epidermis or 

 opening at the stem, appropriating to 

 their use every drop of juice exuding 

 there! rom, but then fnade no attempt to 

 grasp the cuticle icitk tlieir mandibles or 

 clam. I removed the epidermis care- 

 fully from dozens of grapes of various 

 kinds, and placed them on plates be- 

 fore the hives. The bees lapped up 

 all the juice on the outside of the film 

 surrounding the segments of the 

 grape, leaving this delicate film dry 

 and shining, but through and beyond 

 this film they were not able to 

 penetrate. 



I punctured the skins of grapes of 

 all kinds by passing needles of vari- 

 ous sizes through the grape, and 

 placed these before the bees. The 

 needles used were in size from a fine 

 cambric needle to a packing needle. 

 The amount of juice appropriated was 

 in proportion to the size of the open- 

 ing in the skins, and the number of 

 segments of the grape broken. 



The same was true where grapes 

 burst from over-ripeness. Bees are not 

 only unable to penetrate the epidermis 

 of the grape, but they also appear to be 

 unable, even when impelled by the 

 direst necessity, to penetrate the film 

 surrounding tlie berri/, even 'after ihe 

 epidermis is removed. Grapes so 

 prepared, without exception laid be- 

 fore the hives until dried up. If but 

 one segment of a grape be broken by 

 violence or by over-ripeness, the bees 

 are unable to reach the juice beyond 

 the film separating the broken from 

 the unbroken segments until further 

 violence or decay permits an entrance 

 for the tongue. 



Clusters of sound grapes which I 

 hung between the comb frames in the 

 hives occupied by strong colonies, 

 were unbroken and sound after fifteen 

 days' exposure in the hives. The 

 skins were polished smooth, but none 

 were broken. I also stopped up the 

 entrance to several hives— containing 

 good-sized colonies— in the apiary and 

 in the wire-covered house, by pushing 

 sound grapes into the opening, so 

 close together that the bees could not 

 pass through. By this means the bees 

 were confined to the hives for days in 

 succession, not being able to break 

 down and remove the grapes, and 

 although the skins of the grapes next 

 the inside of the hive were polished 

 smooth, none were broken or injured. 

 The past season furnished an ex- 

 cellent opportunity to observe the 

 capacity of bees, under so exceptional 

 circumstances, to injure fruit, for the 

 drouth was very exceptional both in 

 duration and severity, and I was 

 called to several places by fruit- 

 growers to witness the proof that bees 

 were " tearing open the skins of the 

 grapes," and otlierwise behaving in a 

 manner altogether unworthy of any 

 insect enjoying a wide reputation for 

 virtue and orderly living. 



In each instance I succeeded in con- 

 vincing the fruit-grower that the bees 

 were simply performing the office of 

 gleaners ; that violence from other 

 sources, or over-ripeness or decay had 



preceded the bees, and that he would 

 be acting the part of wisdom in fol- 

 lowing the example of the bees in 

 gathering the grapes before further 

 violence, or the action of the elements 

 rendered them worthless. 



After grapes have been subjected to 

 such violence, or have so tar burst 

 open and decayed as to make it pos- 

 sible for bees to injure them, and the 

 circumstances are so exceptional as to 

 lead the bees to seek such food, unless 

 they are speedily gathered they would 

 soon become worthless if unmolested. 



During the past season I made 

 many visits to vineyards— one located 

 near the apiary I visited every day, 

 and my observations and experience 

 with bees in confinement, and those 

 having free access to the vineyards 

 furnishes abundant proof to convince 

 me that bees do not and cannot under 

 any circumstances injure sound fruit. 

 If from any cause the pulp is exposed, 

 such as the attack of birds or wasps 

 —the mo.'it common source of injury — 

 or from the ovipositing of insects, or 

 bursting of the berry from over- 

 ripeness, and if no other resources are 

 available, the bees appropriate and 

 carry away the juice, and the extent 

 of the injury depends upon the degree 

 to which the pulp is exposed, the 

 sweetness of the juice, and the num- 

 ber and necessities of the bees. 



In the face of this very positive 

 testimony not only from entomolo- 

 gists and scientists, but also a grape- 

 grower of 30 years' experience (Dr. 

 Rathvon), is it possible any longer to 

 entertain a doubt on the subject? 

 The bees are innocent, and before the 

 bar of public opinion are exonerated 

 of the charges so persistently made 

 against them. 



They fructify the flowers, and 

 thereby increase the fruit, but they 

 do no damage to the horticulturist 

 nor to the fruit-growers !— Ed.] 



For tbe American Bed Jonmal. 



Censas Statistics— Hi?e-CoTers. 



D. F. PAKE. 



I notice on page 581 the editor's 

 comments on the worthlessness of the 

 United States census statistics, and I 

 would mention that the enumerator 

 of this district refused to take my 

 honey report, saying that his in- 

 structions were not to take any report 

 of farm products unless produced on 

 three acres of land. This decision 

 shut out about 300 colonies in this 

 village alone, and if so construed 

 everywhere, it would make a great 

 difierence in the grand total. Would 

 it not be well to have some proper 

 ruling before taking the next census ? 



Now as we are preparing our bees 

 for winter, allow me to suggest my 

 cover : Make a box the size of the 

 hive, and 5 inches high; lay on it a 

 piece of the matting that comes on 

 tea-chests, then nail on strips of wood 

 all around it one inch wide and ^- 



