HOW THE HONEYBEES FERTILIZE 
THE BLOSSOMS. 
—o - 
BY O. M. OSBORNE 
IJt'ad of Horticultural Department, State Normal 
School, Lewiston, Idaho. 
The development of the apple from the 
flower is a very complex biological process. 
The study of this development has been en¬ 
tirely limited in the past to the field of 
botany. It is now, however, demanding a 
close and careful study from all of the horti¬ 
culturists throughout the world, for it has 
been found that the size and shape of the 
fruit, the yield per acre, and the time for 
spraying are all dependent upon environ¬ 
mental conditions during blossoming time 
that are to a great extent under the control 
of man. To understand these environmental 
conditions, let us begin with the flower it¬ 
self. In plate I is a longitudinal section of 
a fully opened blossom. If each part is care¬ 
fully studied it will be found that every one 
has an important part to play in the form¬ 
ation and development of the fruit. Al¬ 
though not constituting any part of the fruit, 
and although dropping off within a few days, 
the beautiful white and pink petals serve as 
an attraction for the honeybees which visit 
the flower to obtain the nectar from the 
nectar-glands. The nectar-glands are not 
shown in this cut, but they lie at the base of 
the petals on the inner side. After nectar 
has undergone a partial digestion inside the 
bee it becomes honey. 
