1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



935 



tilatidn from the larger cellar surround iiiif 

 the \vinterinj4"-room; and, as I have before 

 stated, the larger cellar contained several 

 carloads of potatoes, and it was necessary 

 to keep the temperature down for these as 

 low as possible. During- warm weather the 

 cellar was kept closed to keep out the warm 

 air. In cold weather it was ventilated, 

 and that quite often. Perfect \entil,ation, 

 and an entire absence of moisture or damp- 

 ness, resulted in the phenomenallv^ g^ood 

 winterincf of all the bees. This year we 

 have in that same cellar 2.^0 colonies instead 

 of 40, and iibout the same number outdoors. 

 These are in addition to 100 colonies in the 

 Bingham cellar at our outyard. 



It is my purpose to make repeated obser- 

 vations to determine the effect of ventilation 

 or no ventilation, and report through these 

 columns. 



THE BEE IN LAW. 



Finding Bee=trees ; Early Code ; Licensees ; Recov= 

 ery of Reclaimed Bees. — Article 4. 



BV K. D. FISHER. 



Having laid down the g^eneral rules that 

 govern property in bees, their identity, 

 transportation and larcenj^ thereof, it will 

 be our purpose in this article to give the re- 

 sult of the different actions at law growing- 

 out of the finding of "bee-trees." In pri- 

 meval days "bee-hunting" and "honey- 

 gathering " were both profitable and fasci- 

 nating pastimes. Even in this day, old 

 bee-hunters can not refrain from following 

 a " course " when it points to the forest. As 

 evidence of this, a bee-tree was cut recently 

 on the Young-farm forest, five miles west of 

 Kokomo, Ind., which beats all records for 

 size and yield. The "gum" in which the 

 honey was stored was 18 inches in diaine- 

 ter and 11 feet in length. Pieces of solid 

 comb 15 inches wide and 10 feet long were 

 taken out. There were nearly two barrels 

 of choice honey, weighing nearly bOO lbs. 

 Georg-e Harness, who helped cut the tree, is 

 84 years old, and sav's he has hunted bee- 

 trees all over the West for 70 years, but de- 

 clares that this tree beats all former rec- 

 ords. 



There was a sort of code among bee-himt- 

 ers in the earlier days of this covuitry. and 

 is said to have been generally observed. It 

 was to the effect that, when a bee-tree was 

 located and marked with the initials of the 

 finder, his rights were prima facie, and 

 zealously observed. But this code did not 

 hold good in law, especially against those 

 holding an interest in the land. " If a per- 

 son finds a bee-tree containing honey, or a 

 hive of bees on another's land, and marks 

 it with his initials, he does not reclaim the 

 bees and vest the exclusive propert3" of bees 

 or honey in himself, as against one of the 

 heirs having an interest in the land; nor 

 does he acquire the right to bring- an action 

 of trespass against the heir for cvitting down 

 the tree and carrying awav the bees and 



hone\'," says the New York Supreme Court 

 in the case of Gillett v. Mason, 7 Johns, N. 

 Y., 16. An early and noted case is report- 

 ed in 1 (Root) Conn., 209. Goodwin sued 

 Merrill for cutting- dovi^n a tree in the for- 

 est, that had a swarm of bees in it, and 

 taking- the honey which he (Goodwin) had 

 previously discovered. Merrill plead that 

 said bees were a swarm from his hive; that 

 he had frequently "lined" them to near 

 said tree, and that said bees were his 

 property. The plaintiff" replied that he 

 found them wild in the woods, and had a 

 good rig-ht to take them. The trial court 

 gave the plaintiff" judg-ment of 30 shilling-s 

 damage. The Supreme Court reversed this 

 judgment, and said: "A man's finding 

 bees in a tree standing upon another inan's 

 land gives him no right, either to the tree or 

 bees; and a swarm of bees going from a 

 hive, if thej^ can be followed and known, 

 are not lost to the owner, but may be re- 

 claimed." 



As earl}' as 1804 the New Hampshire Su- 

 preme Court held that one who finds a swarm 

 of bees in a tree on another's land, marks the 

 tree with his initials, and notifies the land- 

 owner, can not maintain trover against the 

 land-owner for the bees and honey which 

 he obtained and converted to his own use by 

 felling the tree. — Fisher & Parmlee versus 

 Smith. Smith's New Hampshire Report, 

 page 60. 



licp:xsf. ; possession. 



Where one discovers bees in a tree, ob- 

 tains a license from the owner of the soil to 

 take them, and thereupon marks the tree 

 with his own initials, he gains no property 

 till he takes possession; nor can he main- 

 tain trespass against a third person who 

 cuts the tree and takes possession of them 

 on a subsequent license from the owner of 

 the soil. The two licensees stand on an 

 equal footing; and he who first takes pos- 

 session becomes the owner. — Ferguson I's. 

 Miller, 1 Cow. (New York), 243. 



This case has been commented on ad- 

 versely, and critics say it is bad law. The 

 better law on this point is promulgated bj' 

 the Vermont Supreme Court in Adams vs. 

 Burton, 43 Vermont, 36, where it is held 

 that one who has obtained a tacit consent 

 from the owner of the soil to cut down a 

 bee-tree thereon, and get the honey, has, 

 while in the act of cutting down the tree, a 

 superior right over a third pei'son to whom 

 the owner has given subsequent consent, 

 but without revoking the former's authori- 

 ty. The court said: "These parties stand, 

 as between themselves and as respects the 

 legal principles applicable to the case, in 

 precisely the same position as though nei- 

 ther had any authority from the owner of 

 the tree, and both were trespassers upon 

 his rig-hts, or as thoug-h there were no indi- 

 vidual owner of the tree. How, then, would 

 the case stand? No principle is better set- 

 tled than that a person in possession cf 

 property can maintain trespass against 

 any one who interferes with such possession 

 who can not show a better right or title." 



