INTRODUCTION OF THE HUMBLE BEE INTO NEW ZEALAND.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1439, 22 September 1881, Page 4

INTRODUCTION OF THE HUMBLE BEE INTO NEW ZEALAND.

In the Korth British Agriculturist for May 18th last, n correspondent writing on the cibove subject makes the following lemarks :—": — " Without those beautiful <ukl interesting injects, our humble bees [Bamhits trrralru), whose first booming hum on a still spring day coining forth from their winter's hiding place, so grateful to the ear of every country rasident, as the harbinger of balmy growth, it may not be generally known that without the aid of their long proboscis the red clover plant cannot be fertilized ; hence at the Antipodes a very large sum is annually expended in the purchase of imported red ciover seed, which with that insect clmintized could be grown in the colonies." We do not for a moment doubt the utility of the humble bee in tiie clover fields of Britain, and we would hail with delight their successful introduction into New Zealand, bnt we must take emphatic exception to the statement "that the clover plant cannot be fertilised without them ;" we have ourseh es gathered in the vicinity of Christchurch, quantities of red clover heads, containing on an average 6 to 30 seeds, and in one instance 60 well developed seeds were obtained from one head. On testing thdse seeds, it was found thnt seventy per cent of the seed germinated, the second grow th or aftermath produces the most seed. It is quite true that we send large sums of money out of the colony, annually, for clover seeds, the same may be said of all other farm and garden seeds, not because they could not be produced here, but because they can be imported at a cheaper rate, for the reason that seed growing cannot be successfully carried on without an abundance of cheap labour. The question of the humble and lignrian bees as fertilizers was fully discussed in our March is-ue under the heading of " A Popular Error." — i\ r . Z. Country Journal.