Of insects and seeds

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1934
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 60 KB
• Volume: 218
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0016-0032
• DOI: 10.1016/s0016-0032(34)91384-3

✦ Synopsis

Sheet No. 825).--Just to what extent white clover depends on insects for the cross pollination necessary to seed production has been recently demonstrated by entomologists of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Louisiana. Three plots of white clover at each of three separate placeswere chosen for the experiment. One plot in each locality was enclosed with wire cloth having 6o meshes to the inch, calculated to keep out all insects; one with 6-mesh screening which prevented the entrance of honeybees and other insects of the same size or larger; and one with chicken wire, which permitted free passage to all insects, but protected the clover against grazing animals.

In the two years of the investigation, at all three locations, only 5 seeds were obtained from the three 6o-mesh cages; 6599 seeds were obtained from the 6-mesh cages, and 56,365 seeds were obtained from the unscreened cages.

C.