the general subject of pollination. It is 
derived from the word “pollen,” the 
fertilizing element in all flowers so es¬ 
sential to the growth of seed and fruit 
and so necessary to give a balanced ra¬ 
tion to the baby bees in a bee hive. 
Pollination means a transfer of the 
pollen from the male parts of the flow¬ 
ers to the female. Sometimes the male 
part is on one plant and the female 
part on another plant of the same spe¬ 
cies; but more often both the male and 
female parts are on the same flower. In 
a few cases the pollen of the same tree 
or plant can fertilize its own flowers. 
These are called “self fruitful”. But in 
the great majority of cases the pollen 
must come from another tree or plant 
of the same kind before fertilization 
can take place. In these cases the 
blossoms are said to be sterile to their 
own pollen. 
In many instances the pollen is car¬ 
ried by the wind or rain from plant to 
plant, and sometimes it is carried by 
certain insects other than bees. But in 
the case of most fruit trees such as 
apple, peach, pear, cherry, plum, al¬ 
mond, and citrus fruits, honeybees are 
almost the only agent for the transfer 
of the pollen. While other insects may 
do some of the work, they are not un¬ 
der the control of man and therefore 
ar e not often available. It has been 
proven that wind or rain has little or 
no value to transfer the pollen of fruit 
trees. It is, therefore, apparent that 
the fruit growers must use honeybees, 
whether wild or domestic, in order to 
secure the maximum results from 
their trees. 
On the other hand, bees can not 
raise their young without what is called 
[ 3 1 
