584 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jui,Y 15 



becoming active factors in the results of liti- 

 gation to establish the property rights in the 

 bee and the liability of the owner thereof. 



In the treatment of this subject it will be 

 our object to let the cases speak as much as 

 possible for themselves — in other words, to 

 give, as far as is consistent with reasonable 

 brevity, the facts and grounds of the decisions 

 of our courts in the more important cases. 

 Further along, if deemed advisable, we may 

 compile a digest of the statutory laws of the 

 respective States on the subject of bees ; but 

 at present we shall only aim to awaken in our 

 readers a deeper interest in the rights and re- 

 sponsibilities of the bee-keeper as relating to 

 property rights. 



GENERAI, NATURE OF THIS PROPERTY. 



The distinction between wild and domestic 

 bees as subjects of property is one that exists 

 both in the common and the civil law. With- 

 out discussing the question whether all bees 

 were originally wild by nature until tamed by 

 man, and the distinction of the law between 

 such animals as we generally see tame and 

 are, therefore, seldom, if ever, found wander- 

 ing at large, and such creatures as are usually 

 found at liberty, though sometimes tamed and 

 confined by the art and industry of man, it is 

 safe to assume that a qualified property right 

 may exist at common law in bees where a man 

 reclaims and tames them, or confines them so 

 that they can not enjoy their natural liberty. 

 So in the civil law, the title termed " occupa- 

 tio," or the acquisition of ownership by tak- 

 ing possession of bees formerly without an 

 owner, exists ; but it must be kept in mind 

 that, "if we have caught a wild beast or bird 

 or fish or bee, the moment this animal has 

 been caught it becomes ours, and it is regard- 

 ed as ours so long as it is under the restraint 

 of our safe keeping ; but when it has escaped 

 from our keeping, and regained its natural 

 liberty, it becomes the property of the first 

 taker, because it ceases to be ours ; and such 

 an animal is considered to regain its natural 

 liberty when either it has escaped out of our 

 sight, or, though still in our sight, the pur- 

 suit is difficult." 



Having laid down the general rules that 

 govern property in wild animals, we shall con- 

 sider their application to bees. With regard 

 to bees, Blackstone, the great law-giver, says: 

 " Bees also are/ercz natures (wild by nature); 

 but when hived and reclaimed, a man may 

 have a qualified property in them by the law 

 of nature as well as by the civil law." And 

 to the same purpose, not to say in the same 

 words with the civil law, speaks Bracton : 

 "Occupation, that is, hiving or including 

 them, gives the property in bees ; for, though 

 a swarm alights upon my tree, I have no more 

 property in them till I have hived them than 

 I have in the birds which make their nest 

 thereon ; and, therefore, if another hives 

 them, he shall be their proprietor; but a swarm 

 which flies from out of my hive is mine so 

 long as I can keep it in sight and have power 

 to pursue them ; and in these circumstances 

 no one else is entitled to take them." But in 

 respect to such animals as are in the habit of 



going and returning, as pigeons and bees, 

 which are accustomed to go into the woods 

 and fields, and come again, we have this tra- 

 ditional rule that, if they cease to have the 

 intention of returning, they also cease to be 

 ours, and become the property of the first 

 taker, because they cease to be what are term- 

 ed animus revertendi when they have discon- 

 tinued their habits of returning. 



Ownership in bees is ratione soli — that is, 

 bearing reference to the soil, and is said to be 

 the ground of ownership in bees. So in the 

 civil law, if a swarm of bees had flown from 

 A's hive they were reputed his so long as they 

 remained in sight and might easily be pur- 

 sued ; ' ut they do not become private proper- 

 ty until they are actually hived. Bees, along 

 with other wild animals, furnish the only dis- 

 tinct class of chattels which have been made 

 the subject of primary occupancy. Even here, 

 notwithstanding the universal principle of 

 law, that all mankind may pursue and take 

 animals, whether of the air, earth, or water, 

 in a wild state, the first occupant becoming 

 the owner, there is found a restraint which 

 ownership of the soil imposes, and which fas- 

 tens the closer as population grows and civil- 

 ization advances. 



[This is one of a series of articles that will 

 follow in the coming issues. We hope to 

 have them in book form for convenient refer- 

 ence, as there are many " nice points," as a 

 lawyer would say, affecting bees. — Ed.] 



MEASURING BEES' TONGUES. 



BY A. J. WRIGHT. 



I have been reading with much interest the 

 various articles on the above subject appear- 

 ing in your journal from time to time. There 

 can be no question, I think, that a long- 

 tongued bee has a decided advantage over a 

 short-tongued one in the ability to reach the 

 nectar ; and I think, too, that the agitation of 

 the question will result in an improvement of 

 stock ; but it strikes me that the experiments 

 have not been carried far enough. In look- 

 ing to the length of the tongue, have we not 

 overlooked the capacity of the honey-sac and 

 the individual energy of the bee — two very 

 important factors ? Suppose we take two bees 

 having the same length of tongue, we would 

 conclude, if we stopped here with the experi- 

 ment, that these bees would store an equal 

 amount of honey ; but it is a fact that there 

 is as much difference in the capacity of the 

 honey-sacs and the energy of bees as in the 

 length of their tongues. It is also a fact that 

 a long-tongued bee has a larger honey-sac than 

 a short-tongued one, and also greater energy. 



Now, while this places long-tongued bees 

 in a class by themselves, and gives them a 

 great advantage over short tongues, the fact 

 still remains that there is a difference between 

 individual members of the long-tongued class 

 — a difference in the capacity of the honey- 

 sac and the energy of the bee. 



With the foregoing in mind I began a year 

 ago to experiment and construct a glossometer 



