FRUIT BLOSSOMS 
411 
The 17-acre orchard that in its tenth year produced 6 carloads of apples with the help of the bees. 
Waite found that hand-crossed Baldwins 
were highly colored, well-matured, and con¬ 
tained many seeds; while the self-fertilized 
fruit was seedless, only slightly colored, 
and only one-quarter to two-thirds of the 
regular size. 
The Journal of the Board of Agricul¬ 
ture, England, says that out of 63 varie¬ 
ties of apples on which unopened blossoms 
were enclosed and left untouched the only 
one that matured fruit was Irish Peach. 
Of those enclosed and pollinated with their 
own pollen by brush, only a few matiired 
fruit. Others failed to yield any fruit 
when pollinated with pollen of the same 
variety. On the other hand, of the 64 
crosses made, 43 were successful. In Illi¬ 
nois there were formerly many large or¬ 
chards of 40 to 80 acres of a single variety 
which seldom or never bore large crops; 
while mixed orchards in the vicinity often 
gave bumper yields (An. Rep. Mass. F. G. 
Assoc., 1914, p. 47). But under certain 
circumstances a single variety planted in 
large blocks has been known, according to 
Waite, to yield satisfactorily, as the Ben 
Davis at the Olden Fruit Farm in Missouri. 
In Oregon it has been the practice to plant 
two rows of one variety, then two rows of 
the variety used as a pollinator, followed 
by two rows of a third variety. Varieties 
must be selected, of course, that bloom at 
the same time. 
The flowers of the apple are larger than 
those of the pear, partially rose-colored 
and pleasantly scented, especially in the 
evening, when they are attractive to moths. 
The stigmas mature two days before the 
anthers. The stamens stand erect, so cov¬ 
ering the nectary that the nectar Is not as 
easity accessible as that of the pear. Bum¬ 
blebees, which seldom visit pear dowers, 
arq common on apple bloom. At the Con¬ 
necticut Experiment Station 52 insects 
were listed as visitors, among which were 
26 species of bees. 
It is a matter of common observation 
that where an apiary is located near an ap¬ 
ple orchard honeybees are frequent visitors 
to the bloom, and often appear to be the 
only insects present. Waite observed that 
in large orchards covered with blossoms 
there were not sufficient bees to pollinate 
the trees; and this is no doubt often the 
case in sections where apple-growing is the 
principal industry. The president of the 
Vermont Horticultural Society found on 
examination that in orchards which failed 
to produce abundantly there were no bees 
or too few to be of much use. Wherever 
there were large apiaries there was in 
every instance a large apple crop ( Glean¬ 
ings in Bee Culture, March 15, 1912). 
“Plant mixed orchards,” says Waite, “or 
at least avoid planting solid blocks of one 
variety. Be sure that there are sufficient 
bees in the neighborhood to pollinate the 
blossoms properly.” A large fruit-grower 
in California declares: “Bees and fruit go 
together. I can’t raise fruit without 
