LUTHER BURBANK 



In fact, most of us who grow fruit would soon go 

 out of business, or reduce our farms from acres to 

 square feet, if it were not for the bee helpers 

 buzzing about from blossom to blossom." , 



"But do you depend entirely upon the bees, 

 to poUenize your cherries?" my questioner con- 

 tinued. ^ 



"Not altogether. I am obliged to do some 

 poUenizing, particularly at the beginning of an 

 experiment, to make sure of the exact cross that 

 I desire. But after the experiment is under way, 

 I for the most part leave the work to the bees. 

 They operate, as you see, on a large scale, making 

 a thousand pollenizing experiments where I could 

 make one. And in the end the results of their 

 work are highly satisfactory." 



How POLLENIZATION Is EFFECTED 



To illustrate the necessity for the aid of the 

 insect helpers, I usually show the method by 

 which cross pollenizing is effected when done by 

 human hands. 



I select a blossom that is almost mature but 

 has not opened, and cut it across with a very 

 thin, sharp knife, taking the petals about half way 

 down, thus amputating all the stamens, but 

 leaving the pistil. 



Pollen which has previously been collected 

 upon a watch crystal from some open flowers is 



[202] 



