THIRTY-THIRD BIENNIA!, SESSION 
63 
thing that brought it to my attention two years ago was a block of peach 
trees which blossomed very full but they did not set any fruit whatever. 
We had a number of peach experts look over that block of peaches, and not 
one of them could suggest anything. Last winter I was talking it over with 
the head of the bee department in Massachusetts, considered one of the 
best bee men in the United States (so good that Wisconsin was trying hard to 
get him away from us), and he told us the whole trouble was in the absence 
of bees. So the next spring we put a hive of bees in that orchard, and we 
got 4,800 baskets of peaches. 
Now I do not know surely whether the bees did it or not, but Dr. Gasch, 
trained in Ontario and brought to Massachusetts, states that a fruit grower 
who studied bees in Ontario would say that there ought to be a hive of 
bees to every twenty-five full-grown apple trees; Gasch puts it at fifty-odd. 
I asked him why all over New England they were getting good crops when 
they had no bees. He said that the year we lost our peach crop practically 
all the native bees were killed. When we have a favorable season for bees, 
especially the native bees, we get a crop, we get an effective pollination all 
right. But he makes the statement that the bee that does the best work is 
the one that lives as an individual in the ground. We have become so much 
interested in this aspect of the case that we have begun the study of climatic 
conditions that are unfavorable to bees. I am so convinced that this is of 
great importance that this year we have invited the Bee Keepers’ Associa- 
tion to meet with the Massachusetts Fruit Growers’ Association, and we 
are giving them a prominent place on our program. 
Mr. Lewis: I have been working on this practically eight years, and we 
have published bulletins on the pollination of the apple; and now have one 
going to press on the cherry. 
We find that the question of pollination, to a certain degree, is local; 
varieties may be self-fertile in one section and sterile in another section. 
Nevertheless I would not think of planting an orchard myself of a solid va- 
riety in any section of this country. Many of you are interested in the 
Winesap apple. Suppose you plant a combination of two varieties, say 
Winesap and Esopus, what will be the result. The Esopus is a very sterile 
variety; in fact, it does not set three per cent of its own pollination. On 
the other hand, I never yet have been able to get enough Winesap pollen 
for experimental work. I have been all over our Northwest orchard dis- 
tricts and my observation shows that the Winesap does not produce pollen, 
or if at all, in such small quantities as not to be a factor in the production of 
fruit. Then you might plant two varieties like the Esopus and Winesap, and 
get very few apples. 
Another interesting case, in cherries. Our three leading varieties are 
the Napoleon (Royal Ann.), and the Lambert and Bing. These are all self- 
sterile, and in some places we have a large acreage of cherries getting 
nothing, practically nothing, though the trees blossom profusely; the fruit 
early drops on the ground, amounting to nothing. When we cross these 
with a variety like the Black Republican we get a very heavy set. If you— - 
those who are especially interested in this pollination matter — will address 
me at Corvallis, Ore., I will send you a copy of the cherry bulletin as soon as 
it is off the press. 
