THE INFLUENCE OF BEES ON CROPS. 271 



fertilise that of another species. When it is successful the result 

 is a hybrid, the descendants of which cannot be perpetuated by 

 -seed, but only by cuttings, graftings, &c. Bearing in mind the 

 characteristics of the stigma, its adhesiveness, and its hairy hook- 

 lets, the bee's breast, coming in contact with the la.uer, it acts 

 ■as a comb or brush, and aids in detaching the pollen grains from 

 the fur of the bee. These grains 'fall on the adhesive stigma, and 

 •are retained by its viscidity. When this contact takes place — 

 sometimes at once, at other times it may be delayed for hours — 

 the cell of life starts into activity by throwing out a pollen tube, 

 which at once goes in search of the cell of matter contained in the 

 passive ovule. To accomplish this the pollen-tube makes its way 

 ■down the style which connects the stigma to the ovary. The silky 

 threads that protrude from a cob of corn, delicate as they are, 

 -are not too fine or too long for these active tubes to penetrate. 

 The style of the orange, etc., is also easily pierced. The ovule, 

 ■or young seed in the ovary, contains the embryo of the future plant. 

 The pollen-tube having found its way to the ovule, the union of 

 the respective cells takes place. The ovule thus receiving the 

 "germ of life," the infantile development of the future orange or 

 •other tree, as the case may be, commences. 



When the contact of the two cells has been accomplished, the 

 •calyx withers ; the corolla, with the dead remains of the stamens 

 -adhering thereto, falls to the ground ; and the pistil in most cases 

 is absorbed in the fruit. 



These developments will be better understood by reference to 

 -a peach or other stone fruit. When the ovule has thus been ferti- 

 lised, the seed, or, as it is generally termed, the kernel, is the first 

 "to develop, followed by that of the hard shell surrounding it, the 

 •■stone. At first both kernel and the shell of the stone are in em- 

 bryo; as they advance in age the shell hardens, and, at the same 

 time the flesh increases and matures with the gradual expansion 

 •of the outer skin. We then say it is ripe, i.e., its flesh has become 

 useful as food to man, and the seed capable of reproducing its 

 .species. 



Now, it must be obvious to the most casual reader that the 

 bee has played the imperative part in the production of these 

 fruits. Nothing else could have accomplished it so effectively and 

 with such beneficial results as the little busy bee. Other insects 

 .live on honey and pollen, but no other insect is endowed with 

 the instincts of social bees. • Bees work so systematically in cross- 

 jollenisation. They make no mistakes. They will carry pollen 



