16 



THE CANADIAN H0ETI0ULTUEI8T. 



the preferable system in our climate, 

 ■where heavy snows are so apt to tear 

 off the branches where they are trained 

 tree fashion. 



If any prefer to train the currant to 

 a single stem, we would suggest that 

 they try the experiment of painting 

 the entire plant, just before the leaves 

 expand, with soft soap. If the eggs are 

 laid in the soap it will kill them, but if 

 these insects lay their eggs upon the 

 new growth, of course there will be no 

 soap there to do them any harm. Strong 

 alkalies will kill the eggs of very many 

 insects, and soft soap diluted to the con- 

 sistence of a thick paint by the admix- 

 ture of a strong solution of caustic soda 

 is an excellent application for such 

 purposes. 



BEES AND FRUIT. 



BT B. R0BIH80N, LONDON' SOUTH. 



Sir, — I notice in the August number 

 our valuable journal the question asked 

 whether the Honey Bee has any bene- 

 ficial influence on our fruit crop. 



I see Mr.Ott of Arkona has answered 

 the question in an interesting manner, 

 and as I am like him a beekeeper and 

 an amateur fruit grower, I also send you 

 a few facts that may show the great 

 importance of these industrious wonder- 

 ful little insects. 



First, the perfect fertilization of our 

 fruits without delay is all important 

 either by the urivd or by some insect. 

 Now the wind may fail, or act against 

 the desired end, as Mr. C.Darwin shows, 

 page 73, 74, Origin of Species. " Some 

 holly trees bear only male flowers which 

 have four stamens producing a rather 

 small quantity of pollen, and a rudi- 

 mentary pistil ; other holly trees bear 

 only female flowers, these have a full 

 sized pistil, and four stamens with 

 shrivelled anthers, in which not a grain 

 of pollen can be detected. Having 

 found a female tree exactly sixty yards 

 from a male tree, I put the stamens of 



twenty flowers, taken from different 

 branches, under the microscope and in 

 all, without exception, there were a few 

 pollen grains, and in some a profusion. 

 As the wind had set for several days 

 from the female to the male tree, the 

 pollen could not thus have been car- 

 ried. 



The weather had been cold and bois- 

 terous and therefore not favorable to 

 6ees, nevertheless every female flower 

 which I examined had been effectually 

 fertilised by the bees, which had flown 

 from flower to flower in search of nectar" 

 (or pollen). So you see in the case of 

 a reverse wind the bees may give us a 

 better crop of fruit than we would get 

 without them. The above teaches us 

 that our perfect blossom strawberries 

 (if not wanted) need not be planted 

 every fourth or sixth row with our pis- 

 tillate varieties, for if the bee can fer- 

 tilise the holly at a distance of sixty 

 yards why not our strawberries at the 

 same distance ? 



Secondly, the hee surpasses all other 

 insects in the amount oj pollen used and 

 in her manner of gathering it. Pollen 

 she must have, and get it she will, if 

 she falls in front of her hive with her 

 load, perished with the cold ; for it is 

 one of the principal foods of the larva 

 bee ; the brood will fail to mature, 

 starve and die in 24 hours without it 

 (or its substitute) and when once breed- 

 ing starts in the early spring, the old 

 bees will go out in the cold, wet weather 

 to get it, thousands loosing their lives 

 by cold and never reach home, but still 

 having fertilised thousands of blossoms 

 in their chivalrous attempt to sustain 

 the life of their young. (This ia known 

 to beekeepers as spring dwindling). 

 The quantity of pollen used in a good 

 colony is about 30 pounds I believe, as 

 a queen will lay from 70,000 to 100,000 

 eggs in a season, and it is the principal 

 food of the bee for the first 2 1 days of 

 existence. 



