BEES AND FKDITS AND FLOWERS. 505 



CHAPTER XXII 

 Bees and 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 manj- 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 



