AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



763 



Bees and Clierries.— Mr. C. W. 



Mueller, of Los Angeles county, Calif., 

 wrote us as follows : 



I send you an article from the San 

 Francisco Chronicle of May 7. It is the 

 first time I have ever seen or heard 

 anything in favor of the much-despised 

 bee from any fruit-grower. 



There was one man, in Fresno county, 

 who was ignorant enough to claim that 

 bees were hurting the peach blossoms, 

 when they were working on them ! 



I have heard that, \]^ some parts of 

 this county, fruit-growers are putting 

 out honey, mixed with baking powder, 

 to kill the bees. 



Bees are very backward here. Sage 

 and other honey-producing plants are 

 getting into bloom, with hardly any 

 chance for the bees to work on them. 

 The weather has been too cold and 

 windy ; to-day we had quite a good rain, 

 and if warm weather sets in, they will 

 make up for lost time ; if not, there will 

 probably be a poor crop. 



Thompson, Calif. C. W. Mueller. 



Here is the article which Mr. Mueller 

 sent. It was copied from the Vacaville 

 Enterprise, and headed 



Bees and Cherries— Remarkable Facts. 



The Bassfords are authorities on 

 cherry culture. Meeting Henry Bassford 

 the other day an Enterprise reporter 

 asked if the experiment of keeping bees 

 among cherry trees was not being tried 

 in Cherry Glen. We were informed that 

 such was the fact, and learned much of 

 interest relative to past experiences, 

 present conditions and future expecta- 

 tions. 



For several years the cherry crop of 

 Vaca valley has been an uncertain 

 quantity. The famous Smith orchard 

 has not had a first-class cherry crop 

 since 1885, at which time they succeeded 

 in bringing cherries of the early Purple 

 Guigne variety into Vacaville on March 

 31, and which were shipped to the city 

 and there sold on April 1. Other 

 seasons the cherry crop has been only 

 partially a success. 



The reasons for this has been unac- 

 countable, though it has been attributed 

 to the varying conditions of the season, 

 at one time a north wind, another a 

 chilling rain. That these incidents had 

 some effect is no doubt true, but that 

 they were solely responsible was not 

 believed by the Bassfords. 



These observant gentlemen, whose 

 experience in cherry growing goes back 



to a time when the peighborhood of 

 Vacaville was not, as now, a vast 

 orchard, recalled the fact that cherries 

 used to be a sure crop, and sought for 

 the cause of the change. 



It occurred to them that the bees, 

 which in the early beginning of the fruit 

 business in this section were numerous 

 in the orchards, and which for several 

 years back had been conspicuous by 

 their absence, had something to do with 

 the success of the cherry crop. 



Acting on the theory that the fertiliza- 

 tion of the cherry blossom was affected 

 beneficially by the presence of the bees, 

 the Bassfords secured several colonies, 

 and waited results. Last year, the first 

 in which the matter was tested, the 

 result was favorable,- the Bassfords 

 having cherries while other ranchers 

 found their crops an entire or partial 

 failure. 



This, year the Bassfords have abouG 

 65 colonies of bees, and if they succeed 

 in making a cherry crop of old time 

 proportions, they will be prepared to 

 vouch for the practical value of the 

 honey-bee as a mascot to a cherry man. 



Other orchardists are watching their 

 experience with great interest, and may 

 conclude that, to succeed in cherry cul- 

 ture, a bee-hive and a cherry orchard 

 must be planted side by side. 



A Bee-Keepers' College was 



started in Guelph, Ont., by Rev. W. F.- 

 Clarke, on May 30, 1891. Of the class 

 room and apiary the Guelph Mercury 

 says : 



Mr. Oarke's apiary is located in a 

 beautiful grove, east of Mr. Peterson's 

 well-known park, and consists of 1}4 

 acres, the bees being fenced off in a 

 small enclosure within which is a neat 

 octagonal bee-house, capable of being 

 used for a class room, and will also serve 

 as a repository for the bees in Winter. 

 There are at present 16 colonies — 10 of 

 hybrids, 3 Italians, and 3 Carniolans. 

 It is Mr. Clarke's intention to run the 

 apiary both for extracted and comb- 

 honey, so as to illustrate both methods 

 of management. 



Colorado Honey Crop.— From 

 all indications there will be double the 

 quantity of honey produced in the Platte 

 valley in 1891 that was produced in the 

 previous year. — Field and Farm. 



