RATIONAL FRUIT CULTURE. 13 



CHAPTEE III. 



FLOWERS, BUT NO FRUIT. 



IN the first chapter, fruit trees were divided into three 

 classes — those which fail to flower, those which flower 

 but fail to form or to mature fruit, and those which 

 bear satisfactory crops. The causes of failure to flower have 

 been explained, and the methods of remedying them described. 

 We now come to the second class. 



BEES AND FRUIT. 



For failure to form fruit, there may be many reasons. 

 One of the commonest is the absence of bees. If a flower 

 is to develop fruit, some of the yellow pollen from the ring of 

 stamens must be conveyed at the right time to the stigma 

 in the centre, the right time being when the latter is rather 

 sticky. This can be done by the wind, but the best and most 

 certain distributors are bees. They fly from flower to flower, 

 and when they alight some of the pollen with which they are 

 laden adheres to the stigmas with which they come in con- 

 tact. The flowers are theii said to be fertilised or pollinated, 

 and, if the conditions are favourable, are capable of producing 

 fruit. Of late years bees have been much fewer than they 

 used to be. An enormous number of stocks have been killed 

 by disease, and orchards have suffered in consequence. 



FERTILISATION BY HAND. 



Even when there are enough bees in the district, they may 

 not do what is required of them, for they are dependent on 



