Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-02-24
A CHAPTER ON BEES
Their Relation 60 Flower Fertilization
Bees DO Not Visit Corn Flowers.


There il no doubt that bees often serve a
valuable purpose in tertiIzug the flowers Of
Lrult trees and plants Where there are no
D Is trult crops are loss certain than where
thcy are OLhcr Insects undoubtedly help
some also. But neither bees nor insects OF
nly kiud are absolutely nee .ssnrY 10 INJURIES
pIpogtsos, Iney arc helps, and 10 the tower
ing season are never any injury II the
Wrath' IS dry and the wind blows freely 1t
~ ,d,o ~ ulairlodte the necessary pollen. Some
m""crH, as VnDse nt corn, the bee never visits,
ana winds do all the distributing. But In
III recs tle AR IN spring d often moist and
ne polich Is heavy The bees do valuable
serVice.
The above paragraph is found among
the agricultural items in a late number of
the Amertcan CultiUutDr. 1t seems 10
be exceedingly difficult, even for some
competent writers to refrain from adding
to that which they know, something
which they do not know The writer of
the item quoted did not know that bees
never visit the flowers of corn He should
have known before writing about it, that
they do visit corn flowers in great num-
bers, and that the corn tassels supply
large part of the pollen gathered by bees
during the continuance of the bloom
They visit the corn fields most in warm.
cloudy mornings, seldom or never being
seen there when the pollen on the tasseIs
Is entirely dry, or later than noon on q
Iair DAY. In clear, cool mornings when
the dew drops stand on the bloom, the
bees delay work in the field so that there
remains only short time to gather pol.
! leu from the corn, but ia warm mornings
Wnen there is but little dew they are at
| their WORK about as soon as the sun has
rlSeOt the rapid motion of their wings
shaking the pollen dust from the authers
| on to the sllken threads below. At such
| times have seen the bees working on
the corn bloom by hundreds, and watched
them uyIng, heavily laden, in a line to-
ward their home.
! But it is hardly probable that bees ara
! needed TO aid the process of fertilization
/ IN cOTn-helds. If the corn was growing in
a state of nature the case might be diff
I fetent, but in large fields the pollen is
so abundant that its dust, no doubt, at
/ one time or another DeryQdeS every square
/ inch of space from the tassels to the
ground. In many other plants tertlIizA-
non would DE Incomplete, or an entire
failure, without the help of bees or other
| insects to bring the pollen in contact with
the parts Of the pistillate flower Some
ofthe most productive varieties of the
/ strawberry, 1t Is well known, are plstii-
/ iate pants, ami must be fertiliZe0 from
/ the Hover, ot other varieties bearing
| stanens. The plants grow close to the
| ground - that there seems to be little
chance tnet the pollen would fall upon a
plstiiate Hover unless very near one Of
the kind having stemeus vet it may be
tertlllI-d from plaut IN distant part
OF the field. The pollen being brought by
two or other insects Practically the fer
uDlZttloN OF the plSti!iate varieties Of the
strawberry when planted three or Tour
rows together adjoining Que Or more
rows OF perfect lowering plants as is
usual IN field culture. depends upon in
sec'e. In pleasant day when the straw.
berries are in full blossom hundreds ot in
Sect~ may be- seen passing continually
from nlNEpT 10 flower t'4NVDDrTy