BEES AND FRUITS AND FLOWERS. 505 
CHAPTER XXII 
Bees anp Fruits anD FLOWERS. 
871. We have shown, in the chapter on Physiology 
(43), that bees cannot injure sound fruits, and in the chap- 
ter on Food (268), that they help the fecundation of 
flowers; but this accusation of bees injuring fruits has 
become of so much importance in the past few years, espe- 
cially in the best fruit and bee country of the world, Cali- 
fornia, that we deem it necessary to give it a whole chapter. 
While the honey-bee is regarded by the best informed hor- 
ticulturists as a friend, a strong prejudice has been excited 
against it by many fruit-growers; and in some communi- 
ties, a man who keeps bees, is considered as bad a neigh- 
bor, as one who allows his poultry to despoil the gardens 
of others. Even some warm friends of the ‘‘ busy bee,’’ 
may be heard lamenting its propensity to banquet on their 
beautiful peaches and pears, and choicest grapes and plums. 
That bees do gather the sweet juice of fruits when 
nothing else is to be found, is certain; but it is also evident 
that their jaws being adapted chiefly to the manipulation 
of. wax, are too feeble to enable them to puncture the skin 
of the most delicate grapes. 
872. We made experiments in our Apiary on bees and 
grapes, during the season of 1879, — one of the worst sea- 
sons we ever knew for bees. The Summer having been 
exceedingly dry, the grape crop was large and the honey 
crop small. In every vineyard a number of ripe grapes 
were eaten by bees, and the grape-growers in our vicinity 
were so positively certain that the bees were guilty, that 
