148 BEEKEEPING 



than in the mouth. It reminds one of 

 those warm rich days when the plum or- 

 chards bloom and we get a whiff of sweet- 

 ness across the hills on the evening air. 



So important is the fruit bloom to the 

 beekeeper that in sections where he has 

 been depending upon it he must make 

 other provisions in years of failure. If 

 the trees fail to bloom or if the bloom is 

 killed by cold, it is almost a certainty that 

 the bees will have to be fed before the 

 early summer flowers arrive. 



Altogether there is a rather close part- 

 nership between the bee and the flower. 

 Each is dependent upon the other to a 

 very great extent — that sort of depend- 

 ence which is extremely common in many 

 of nature's works. That the beekeeper 

 should understand this dependence goes 

 without saying for no one can success- 

 fully manage bees unless he also knows 

 something of the flowers which furnish 

 the basis for his work. 



