THE GRAPE IN KANSAS. 115 



DO BEES DESTROY GRAPES? 



Many of our vineyardists claim that bees destroy grapes, and the matter 

 been a source of debate and discussion in all neighborhoods where bees are kept 

 and grapes are grown. We have looked up authorities on this subject, and offer 

 the following extracts : 



From "Bee-keeping in Relation to Horticulture," read before the Kansas State Horticultural 

 Society, by EMERSON TAYLOR ABBOTT, of St. Joseph, Mo. 



"Many fruit-growers persist in saying that bees do in jure ripe fruit, especially 

 the grape. They have been accused of eating up the fruit of entire vineyards, 

 and some claim that they have destroyed apples, pears, plums, and, possibly, 

 corn and pumpkins. 



"Now, what are the facts? Do bees ever suck the juice of grapes? Yes, 

 when the grapes burst from overripeness, or when punctured by other insects, as 

 wasps and hornets, they will suck every drop of juice. When grapes are left on 

 the vines until overripe, as is often done, and there are many bees near, they be- 

 come troublesome, if not dangerous, to those engaged in gathering the fruit. It 

 yet remains to be proven that the honey-bee ever injured any sound fruit or 

 punctured a perfect grape. 



" A few years ago the United States government employed a special agent to" 

 investigate, and, after repeated tests and experiments, he said : 'My observations 

 and experiences with bees in confinement and those having free access to vine- 

 yards furnish abundant proof to convince me that bees do not and cannot injure 

 sound fruit.' This man was not influenced by selfish interests, and had no rea- 

 son for making any false statement. All unbiased testimony since corroborates 

 his statement. I have tested the matter with nearly 200 colonies of bees by the 

 side of a two-acre vineyard, from which I harvested a large crop of ripe grapes r 

 and with this experience of my own, and the testimony of others to bear me out, 

 I say bees never injure sound fruit. The bee is not built that way. While its 

 mandibles are very strong, yet they are not suited to cutting, as any one can see 

 by examining them with a microscope. The jaw is not notched, but perfectly 

 smooth, and bears nothing that resembles teeth. It would require teeth like a 

 squirrel in order to do much that is charged to it." 



From Langstroth on "The Hive and Honey-bee," 1899. 



"Aristotle remarked, more than two thousand years ago, that bees hurt no 

 kind of sound fruit, but wasps and hornets are very destructive to them. This 

 accusation of bees injuring fruit has become of so much importance in the past 

 few years, especially in the best fruit and bee country of the world, California, 

 that we deem it necessary to give it a whole chapter. While the honey-bee is re- 

 garded by the best- informed horticulturists as a friend, a strong prejudice has 

 been excited against it by many fruit-growers, and in some communities a man 

 who keeps bees is considered as bad a neighbor as one who allows his poultry to 

 despoil the gardens of others. Even some warm friends of the "busy bee" may 

 be heard lamenting its propensity to banquet on their beautiful peaches and 

 pears and choicest grapes and plums. That bees do gather the sweet juice of 

 fruits when nothing else is to be found, is certain; but it is also evident that 

 their jaws, being adapted chiefly to the manipulation of wax, are too feeble to en- 

 able them to puncture the skin of the most delicate grapes. 



"We made experiments in our apiary on bees and grapes during the season 

 of 1879 one of the worst seasons we ever knew for bees. The summer having 

 been exceedingly dry, the grape crop was large and the honey crop small. In 



