67 



of the achenia must be fertilised to produce a perfect fruit ; otherwise, if this 

 is but partially accomplished, the part unfertilised remains undeve'oped — 

 hard, shrunken, and green — when the fertilised portion is fully ripe (see 

 Fig. B). Almost any dish of strawberries will furnish such examples. 



When we consider that, according to Cheshire, it requires from 100 to 

 200, or even 300, distinct fertilisations to produce a perfect strawberry, we 

 can realise how necessary it is to have the agents for such fertilisation near 

 at hand when the plants are in blossom. Gooseberries are absolutely de- 

 pendent on insects, and in fact all fruits are dependent upon outside agencies 

 for their growth and development. 



It is well to note here a statement in Cheshire's work that I have not 

 noticed elsewhere, viz. : — 



There is a tendency to a separation of the sexes in the cultivated straw- 

 berry, which Darwin observes " is far more strongly marked in the United 

 States than in Europe " : and growers will do well to note that plants bear- 

 ing unusually large blossoms are frequently tending to become male, and 

 produce few fruits, while these of the same variety and under the same 

 treatment that produce small blossoms are tending to become female, and 

 are abundant bearers, while they yield few ruimers. Without care in select- 

 ing, the numerous runners of the former would ultimateh'' supplant the 

 female forms, and so ruin the stock for economic purposes. 



When lecturing to some of the largest growers of strawberries in the 

 United Kingdom, Mr. Cheshire found them all quite unaware of the above 

 tendency. New Zealand growers are not, I should imagine, ignorant of a 

 fact of so much importance to their success, but I think it well to quote 

 the paragraph. 



I may also quote the following authorities : — 



Professor L. 0. Howard, Chief of the Division of Entomology, Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, United States of Ameiica, in his introduction to Bulletin 

 No. 1 on " The Honey-bee," third edition, issued in 1899, says of bees and 

 bee-culture, — 



This branch of agricultural industry does not impcverish the soil in 

 the least, but, on the contrary, results in better seed and fruit crops. The 

 total money gain to the country from the prosecution of this industrv would 

 undoubtedly be placed at several times the amount given in the table above 

 ( $20,000,000) were we only able to estimate in dollars and cents the result of the 

 work of bees in cross-fertilising the blossoms of fruit-crops. In support of this 

 it is only necessary to refer to the fact that recent investigations of another 

 Division of this Department have .shown that certain varieties of pear are 

 nearly or quite sterile unless bees bring pollen from other distinct varieties 

 for their complete cross-fertilisation. 



Professor Baily, Horticulturist of Cornell University, says, — 



Bees are much more efficient agents of pollination tho.n wind in our fruits, 

 and their absence is always deleterious. 



" The ABC of Bee-culture " furnishes much evidence of experiments 

 carried out by the Agricultural Department of the United States of America 



