Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-05-16
AGRICULTURAL.
the urILITl or BEES.
Their UsefaIne-- NJ Pollen Carriers nnd
RertiIizers Of FIowerinE Plants.

CROPS OF FRU1T AND GRAIN RESULTING
PROM THEIR ACTION.
A correspondent Of the Hartford Courant
sends TO that paper from Paris a useful
and suggestive letter on the topic which
we have placed at the head Of this article.
In September 1888, he writes, Mr.. +.
Jobard Of Dijon, in eastern France, pub
lished a small pamphlet on the Utility Of
Bees This pamphlet produced a wide
spread interest among farmers and fruit
growers; and the author was urged to am
plify aud popularize his views This he
has done in a neat little volume, entitled
"The First Hive" t"La Premiere Ruche' "
Mr. Jobard left the home Of his boyhUod
in Haute Marine in 1916, at which time the
old homestead was a charming picture Of
fruitful prosperity. He became the owner
of this old homestead forty years after,
when it had become depressing picture
Of dilapidation and decay.
The main points of the preface to Mr.
Jobard's book are given below with some
paragraphs from his original pamphlet
added
Returning to my native village after an
absence of forty years, | was strongly i'm
pressed with the sterility of the fruit trees
There, where formerly the trees bent un-
der loads Of fruit, year after year, | now
found only stunted trees bearing less and
still less fruit poor in form and flavor In
the country | found the acquaintance and
friends of my youth grown old like myself:
and l expressed to them the painful i'm
preston which / experienced in finding
our orchards, once so productive, now fall
en- into such a state of decay. All had OBJ
served the same thing, and likewise agreed
in declaring that the evil had commenced
taking disquieting proportions about 90
years before but not one of these suspect
ed the cause of the evil.
Every spring the trees had blossomed
admirably, but autumn yields never iusti-
fled the hopes raised. From the modest
home of my father, surrounded by bit of
ground, cultivated as an orchard aud vine
yard, the bee house which had existed when
was young had completely disappeared
was soon convinced that in the country
where there were once 800 swarms of bees
there now remained not a single hive. and
the same was true Of the entire valley
For some time l let no opportunity es-
cape of causing the farmers and fruit
growers TO understand that the disappear.
ance of the bees was the sole cause of the
disaster. But as ! saw that nv theories
made but little impression, l began to re-
build and supply the old bee house and
with the very first year ] obtained a mar.
velous result
In front of this bee house there were
six fruit trees, four plum, one apple and
one pear tree. In the spring these were GOV
cred with blossoms, as were all the other
trees in the country. Soon saw the fruit
take form, and each day led my friends
to observe the progress. But, more incred
ulous than st. Thomas, they refused ALSO
lutely to attribute this phenomenon, so Wis |
lble, tangible and incontestable. 20 my bees
When the fruit began TO mature, | saw the
branches OF my trees assume shapes which !
caused me uneasness At one time had
thought of sustaining them with props as |
used to be done. But finally | believed il
to be better TO carry the trial to its very
END. The result surpassed my hopes The |
branches Of my plum trees broke, one after
another, under their burden. was Obliged
to have them replaced with others towards |
the end of autumn. As to my apple tree
and pear tree, as | could not allow myself
to sacrifice them, propped them thorough
y and with great care just in time to save
them. This practical demonstration pro
duced the effect | hoped, and all my friends
promised to initiate my example Ii was
then l conceived the project of grouping in
few pages all the interesting facts which
tend to prove the fertiizing action of bees
in order that might complete the CONVEX
sion of my neighbors.
The following paragraphs, taken from the
pamphlet on the Utility of Bees, " Indicate
the beneficial influence of bees upon grow
ing wheat -
ha-s
the farmers raise no other crops than wheat
and wheat of such superior quality as to be
always sold at high price as seed wheat
In these districts all farmers, without ex
ceptlon, have bee houses, but these bee
houses, instead of being fixed, are mounted
on wheels. Some days before the wheat
blooms each farmer bitches his team to his |
movable bee house, and conducts it during
the night into the middle of his wheat field, |
Taking dinner one day at Vearo with |
several farmers | related this fact when |
Mr.. Genelot, farmer of Failly, exclaimed:
Well, then, that is WHY my finest wheat is
always found near my bee hive. and the |
difference is so marked that ever since |
nave been at Failly it is uniformly that |
wheat which | select for seed wheat
Some time after, writing to the Able |
Ierrasse, mentioned this custom of the |
Saxon farmers, which had been commupi |
Gated to me by Mr.. Weber of the Dion DO |
tanical garden, and this explanation of .
MT Genelot In reply soon after receiv-
ed, the able conveyed the following con
hrmatory statement: Sunday last, receiv
ing visit from the mayor of Langues. |
explained 20 him what was done in certain
districts in Saxony, as written by YOU on
the statement of Mr.. Weber He exclaimed
I IN as did your worthy farmer of
Nelaro 1 have bee house in the middle
OF field, and it is always the field sur
rounding my bee house which furnishes nv
seed wheat
The testimony supplied by Mr.. Jobard. as
to the beneficial effects upon grape vines,
fruit trees and fruit bearing trees general.
ly, is more abundant and equally remark
able.
The Able Terrasse, writing to Mr.. Jobard
in August, 1888, says:
my venerated associate of Ninville. an
ardent lover of bees, placed in 1888. some
hives of bees inside of his walled garden.
where, for 20 years, 30 trees persisted in
spite OF Intelligent care, in refusing to bear
fruit. Now, starting from this introduction
OF bees, pears and apples abounded as bv
enchantment upon these trees heretofore
unproductive.
I'm the village of A, Mr.. j. possesses
an orchard lying off by itself in the midst
OF plain. Every year he gathers fruit in
such abundance as TO provoke the jealousy
of his neighbors less favored than he, and
who rack their brains in searching all sorts
of causes for this exceptional abundance.
They do not observe that it is the bee house
very near to the orchard which produces
this marvel"
The abbS then adds
This, then, is principle, from now on
incontestable, that bees exercise an influ
ence, will say necessary influence. in the
perfect floral fertilization of fruit trees,
cereals, buckwheat, COLA, artificial mead
Ows, etc"
One item from Mr.. Jobard's First Hive -
Going 10 visit one of his friends in Brit
tany, after some years of separation. he
this friend perched up in an ap-
pie tree, then in full bloom, which he was
shaking with great energy In other trees
near by we're men in this gentleman's en-
ploy shaking other blooming apple trees like
their employer Mr.. Jobard approached the
foot of the tree, hailed his friend and said ,
What in the mischief are YOU doing y
Jumping from the tree and greeting his
friend, he answered, "Why, | am making
apples as you see ~ And those other fell
lows there Z" Gan making apples like me. - ]
Apples Z" YES let us go and settle our
selves somewhere and / will explain this
method of culture which seems TO cause YOU
so much surprise
This Breton farmer goes on TO state that +,
six years ago, while his apple trees were in
full bloom, there came from the east a yio-
lent storm, which stripped his apple trees of
their blossoms and strewed the ground with I
hrOEau branches This AaetrY,t,g,, - -. ] &