440 



An ordinance was passed by the board 

 of supervisors, they no doubt believing that 

 it was for the "protection of the bee in- 

 dustry of this county;" but as it turned 

 out, it looks like a piece of jobbery, and no 

 teal attempt has been made to enforce the 

 •ordinance beybnd trying to bluff any new- 

 t'omers who were not in the click. In a 

 ttieasure this bluff has been successful. 



The history and a summary of the ordi- 

 inance in question might be interesting to 

 tthe readers of Gleanings. A copy of the 

 or«:3i nance in force in Orange County was 

 brought before the Imperial Valley Bee- 

 keepers' Association by Mr. Wagner, who 

 sought the association's endorsement upon 

 a similar one for Imperial County. It was 

 lot enthusiastically received, but Mr, 

 Wagner was appointed a committee of one 

 to secure signers to a petition asking the 

 board of supervisors to pass the ordinance. 

 This did not meet his approval, and he call- 

 ed a meeting of the Valley beekeepers to 

 consider the matter. Of about fifty bee- 

 keepers in this valley, just nine responded. 

 I was the only one of the nine who opposed 

 the ordinance, and my opposition was bas- 

 ed upon my belief that it could not be en- 

 forced. I "had no thought at the time that 

 it was to be used as it has been since its 

 passage. 



The ordinance, in brief, provided that 

 any bees brought into the county must be 

 marked with the place whence they came, 

 and that the inspector must be notified 

 within 48 hours of their arrival. There 

 were other minor provisions that really 

 added nothing to our State law, and were 

 practically worthless as a safeguard against 

 the introduction of brood diseases. 



But here was the joker. It gave the in- 

 spector power "to quarantine bees from any 

 county. State, or foreign country, where 

 brood diseases were known or suspected 

 to exist." That practically meant every- 

 where. But the law gave the inspector no 

 power to enforce his quarantine, nor did it 

 attach any penalty for violating it. I ask- 

 ed Mr. Wagner how he expected to en- 

 force his quarantine, but received no satis- 

 factory answer. I signed the petition, how- 

 ever, as I believed he would make the at- 

 tempt, and it would give the courts an op- 

 portunity to decide whether or not the law 

 would hold. 



Since the passage of the ordinance, bees 

 have been brought in by the carload from 

 infected counties by the most enthusiastic 

 supporters of the ordinance, and without 

 :any opposition on Mr. Wagner's part. 



Mr. Roy Bateman, a farmer located near 

 this place, decided to embark in the bee 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



business, and went to Mr. Wagner to make 

 arrangements about bringing in a carload 

 of bees. As Mr. Bateman was an "outsid- 

 er," he was forbidden; but upon his insis- 

 tence that the ordinance was unconstitu- 

 tional, Mr. Wagner told him to consult with 

 a certain beeman in this vicinity, saying 

 that if this man made no objections it might 

 be arranged. Though I have as many or 

 more colonies of bees than the man in ques- 

 tion, I was not consulted, possibly because 

 Mr. Wagner felt sure that I would tell 

 Mr. Bateman the truth of the situation, and 

 welcome him to the ranks of beekeepers, 

 while he could depend upon the other party 

 working the bluff for all it was worth. Mr. 

 Bateman, however, refused to be bluffed; 

 brought in his carload of bees, and when 

 they were inspected by Mr. Wagner the 

 latter made the remark that that ordinance 

 would frighten away some people anyhow. 

 Shortly afterward I took Mr. W. to task 

 at a meeting of the beekeepers' association 

 for non-enforcement of the ordinance, and 

 he said he was doing all he could, and that 

 it had kept out at least 2000 colonies of 

 bees. That is the key to the entire situa- 

 tion. It was meant and is being used to 

 keep out hees, not bee diseases, and it suc- 

 ceeds in this only when the incoming bee- 

 man can be bluffed, for Mr. Bateman is not 

 the only "outsider" who has brought in 

 bees. 



I do not mean to encourage the importa- 

 tion of bees into this county. There may 

 be, as most of the older beekeepers claim, 

 quite enough here already. I have 600 colo- 

 nies in a territory less than one mile wide 

 and six miles long, and there are four other 

 small apiaries in this territory, besides 

 many scattered bunches of from three to a 

 dozen colonies, and bees could probably be 

 bought in the county cheaper than thej 

 could be shipped in. 



But I strongly disapjjrove of "bluff" 

 legislation of any kind. This quarantine 

 regulation and inspection of bees in general 

 is a good thing ; but it has often been abus- 

 ed, to the detriment of the public at large 

 and to the beekeeping industry. The idea 

 of quarantining healthy bees because they 

 came "from a county. State, or foreign 

 country where brood diseases are known, 

 or suspected, to exist," is preposterous. We 

 have foul brood right here in Imperial 

 County, so we can not keep out that dis- 

 ease by keeping out all bees. 



Let us have no more of these stupid 

 county ordinances. Our State law is suf- 

 ficient until we can get a better one. 



Brawley, Cal. 



