AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



307 



Cowan and Cheshire agree in their 

 statements, the former quoting such 

 authorities as Charbrier, Burmeister, 

 Landois and Marey. According to these 

 writers, although the » vocal apparatus 

 spoken of by Prof. Leader makes a sound, 

 there are two other sources of sound, 

 and consequently thren kinds of sounds. 

 The first, buzzing is made by the vibra- 

 tion of the wings ; the second, much 

 sharper, by the vibration of the abdomi- 

 nal rings ; and the third, humming, the 

 most acute and intense, by the action of 

 a true vocal apparatus, placed in the 

 stigmatic orifice. 



Marengo, 111. 



Bees, Poultry anil Horticnltore, 



MRS. S. E. SITERMAN. 



We are here at our annual convention, 

 to consider what pertains to the best 

 interests of our pursuit. 



I, as a member of this society, am 

 here under protest, for my bees and 

 poultry at home are calling loudly for 

 my aid, assistance and fostering care. 

 But it is for them I am here, to plead 

 their cause and to place them upon a 

 proper footing, and to show you that 

 they are a necessary adjunct to success- 

 ful horticulture. I now say, without fear 

 of successful contradiction, that the pos- 

 sibilities in bee-keeping and poultry- 

 raising have not yet been reached. 



Need I say less of horticulture ? The 

 true horticulturist and fancier, like the 

 bee-keeper, is an enthusiast. I need not 

 remind any who plant trees and grow 

 fruits of the genuine pleasure that thrills 

 his soul when nature responds to his 

 intelligence, thought and careful direc- 

 tions. He lives in a world all his own. 

 He needs no other intoxicant to complete 

 his happiness. 



Horticulture is one of the fine arts ; it 

 requires the skill of a master; but after 

 all his skill in planting, after ransacking 

 the earth for improved varieties, after 

 propagating, grafting and hybridizing, 

 he must rely mainly on nature's methods 

 of fructification. The favoring winds 

 and industrious bees are needed to fer- 

 tilize the bloom to insure a harvest of 

 fruit. As a means of accomplishing this 

 end, there is no question but that the bee 

 is of great service to the grower of fruits; 

 no other insect is multiplied in such vast 

 numbers so early in the Spring, when 

 their agency is so much needed to fer- 

 tilize the orchards and small fruits. 



If the winds were the only means of 

 carrying the pollen from flower to flower. 



how often would perfect fertilization fail 

 from too much or too little wind, during 

 the brief time when the bursting > liuds 

 are sighing for the life-giving dust from 

 the neighboring flowers. 



Not only is honey provided in the deli- 

 cate chalices to entice them, but the 

 pollen so essential to the plant (and just 

 as essential to the bee in furnishing the 

 proper food for its young), is placed in 

 close proximity to the nectar, so that in 

 getting either it is unwittingly carrying 

 the dust from flower to flower, working 

 out the wise plans of Providence as 

 relates to plants, and catering to man's 

 pleasurable taste at the same time. 



The drop of honey is placed, then, in 

 the flower, not because it is needed in 

 the flower or fruit, but to tempt the bee 

 to brush its hairy legs against the anthers 

 and distribute the golden dust. So the 

 bee introduces itself^at once to the horti- 

 culturist as his frien'd. The latter ought 

 to meet it half way and acknowledge its 

 two-fold service. It does him a service 

 while on its daily rounds in search of 

 food for itself and young, and again by 

 storing up foi' his benefit the liquid 

 sweets which it does not need itself, and 

 which, ungathered, vanish like the morn- 

 ing dew, like the manna which the 

 Israelites ate of. The ungathered por- 

 tions melted "when the sun waxed hot." 



What, then, is there to hinder these 

 three vocations from going hand in hand, 

 since each is helpful to the other. Each 

 furnish inducements for the other to 

 exist. These pursuits once entered upon, 

 possess charms of their own. No other 

 stimulus is needed to follow them than 

 the fascinations of their own creation. 



But comparatively few people know 

 the value of the bee to the various 

 branches of horticulture. Many look 

 upon them as a simple machine for the 

 gathering of honey, by which means 

 the human taste is gratified. But in 

 truth the bee is almost as much a part of 

 choice fruit and beautiful flowers as the 

 branches upon which they grow. The 

 flower, with its honey, and the bees are 

 actors in one of nature's most beautiful 

 and interesting problems, and through 

 the intricate workings of this problem 

 are born the brightest colors, finest per- 

 fumes, and richest flowers. 



Countless flowers are fertilized by the 

 bee which would otherwise perish from 

 the earth. When there are no bees, 

 fruits and flowers show the effect of a 

 violation of the law of nature by slowly 

 but surely degenerating. The bee is h.^ 

 necessary to the flower as the flower to 

 the bee; in conjunction a harmony is 

 produced which results in more brilliant 



