570 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mr. Xewtnan, as a contribution to the 

 fund of knowledge, which I hold to 

 be "power.'"* The progrHmme of the 

 National Bee- Keepers' Union, as set 

 forth in the Constitution, is not broad 

 enough for me. It should include the 

 words : " Amend the Jaws relating 

 to bees," in Article No. 2. 



As far as I can learn, bees are out- 

 side the law in this country, being 

 classed as ferce naturae, which, being 

 translated, I think means, " beings 

 in a state of nature." If this be so, 

 then the United States is behind the 

 times, and should be made to amend 

 the law and take the sensible course 

 French practice has done, viz., when 

 under care of man, then a domestic 

 animal. Tiie duty and object of the 

 National Bee-Keepers' Union will 

 later on be found to be compilation, 

 and passing into recognized law of 

 the United States of America, a bee 

 code, at once simple, sensible, and 

 based upon modern knowledge and 

 modern trade requirements. The sug- 

 gestions I now have made I deem to 

 be botli practical and practicable. If 

 the National Bee-Keepers' Union fol- 

 low some such plan, my sympathies 

 will be with them, and my subscrip- 

 tion, too. 



Dropping law, I will now tell you a 

 tale : Some years ago I had occasion 

 to consult the great bee-man of 

 France, Mr. Hamet, and I was in a 

 hurry. He was not at his sanctum, 

 where Mr. Newman and I interviewed 

 him some years ago, but Madame vol- 

 unteered to send the servant with me 

 to guide me to the •' Garden." Tliree 

 or four blocks away I found Mr. 

 Hamet in a Garden measuring some 

 40x30 feet, and to my astonishment, 

 into this space was crowded some .30 

 bee-hives, so close that, as the bees 

 rushed in and out, they pinged most 

 unpleasantly every now and then on 

 nose, eye or" cheek. ""Why so many 

 hives here ':* was a natural question. 

 Mr. Hamet replied : " Because of 

 the sugar refineries." ]\Iore bewild- 

 ered still, I begged him to explain. 



In the spring Mr. Hamet takes his 

 bees to the country ; as long as the 

 honey-ilow lasts, tliey stay there. The 

 flow over, supers are taken off (straw- 

 hives, remember), and bacli they 

 come to this garden. Within a radius 

 of half a mile are the largest sugar 

 refineries in Paris. To these go the 

 bees, and bring in crop No. 2, and not 

 only a store of sugar honey is secured, 

 but a steady, constant breeding is 

 kept up during all July and August, 

 and the hives are full of bees, to take 

 away to the heather to gather crop 

 No. 3. 



But do not the bees get killed in the 

 rehneries, I asked V "Mon Dieu. nui — 

 but what signifies a few bees liilled. 

 to the effect on the breeding produced 

 by the inflow from those bees that 

 escape V" was the answer. 



Mr. Hamet went on to tell me how 

 the sugar refineries brought suit 

 against him for interrupting them in 

 their business, stealing their sugar, 

 etc., and liow the refineries lost the 

 day. not once, but twice, and I think 

 a third time. 



On what point did you beat them, I 

 asked V Stooping to the ground, he 



picked up a dead bee, and said : I 

 filed a demand that they produce in 

 court the bees that did the robbing, 

 etc., and they brought a bushel of 

 dead bees. Picking out one very 

 carefully, I demanded of the plaintiff, 

 will you swear that bee is one of my 

 beesV No answer. I won the case 

 each time, and moreover the Judge 

 admonished the refineries to cover 

 every door and window with wire 

 ganze, and use every reasonable pre- 

 caution to keep the bees out, or Mr. 

 Hamet miglit have just cause to go 

 against them for killing his bees 

 without necessity. 



To the best of my recollection I 

 have given the facts. I am of the 

 opinion that the full report of the 

 case will be found in VApicuUeur. 

 Suppose that in this coiuitry it were 

 once established law, that to kill a 

 bee needlessly, or by carelessness be 

 a party to the same, was a crime, 

 punishable. Cannot my bee-brethren 

 see that the owner of the deadly cider 

 press would quickly have to go behind 

 the screen, or down on himwould be 

 the National Bee-Keepers' Union. 



Amend, define, and print the laws, 

 and let each bee-keeper have a copy, 

 and in case of need turn to the >.a- 

 tional Bee-Keepers' Union, but first 

 of all, take the common-sense method 

 to gain the day in the test case. 



Philadelphia. o. Pa. 



*[0f the apicultural jurisprudence 

 mentioned by Mr. Todd, we have 

 translated from the French periodi- 

 cal, ie Ziw/ter; and even if the items 

 are of no value to Americans, they 

 will be read with interest. Our trans- 

 lation of some of the items is as fol- 

 lows :-— Ed] 



Al'ICULTURAL JURISPRUDENCE. 



The bees which inhabit the woods, 

 living in trees, hedges or thickets in 

 the groves, without having been col- 

 lected by any one, are numbered 

 among the public things which Ijelong 

 to those who first find them. 



The honey and the wax belonging 

 to bees in ttie wild state, belong solely 

 to those who find them. — Founul. Tr. 

 du VoiMnage, Abeille. 



When the bees have been captured 

 and placed in the hives, they are the 

 legitimate property of those who hive 

 them, and they ought not to be per- 

 mitted to suffer by fraud or neglect. — 

 Vaudore, Droit Rural No. 20.5. 



In order for the swarm to belong to 

 the owner of the laud on whii-li it is 

 placed, the bees must not be enticed 

 by fraud or trickery.— C. civil, art. 5G4. 



According to the Rural Code, the 

 owner of the fugitive swarm may de- 

 mand and recover it; and the one 

 who has seized it must give it up to 

 him, [TfiuUier.tome A. No oO), accord- 

 ing to the condition expressed, that 

 the said owner has not ceased to fol- 

 low his swarm (Loi du .Sept. 28 to Oct. 

 6, 1791, r. /, .S'ec. 3, art. .5) ; otiierwise 

 according to the Roman law. tlie 

 swarm should be the property of the 

 owner of the land whereon it settles.— 

 (Dig.. Lib. 41, Tit. I. de acq. rer dom.. 

 page 5, Hec. 4. ) 



As the result of this custom, in cer- 

 tain counties they follow up the 

 swarms with a great noise to prove 

 that they have not ceased to pursue 

 them. It is desired that the law 

 should be modified, and that there 

 siiould be a return to the customs of 

 St. Louis, which maintain the rights 

 of the owner even after the bees had 

 disappeared from his view, provided 

 always that he can prove their iden- 

 tity ; inasmuch as there exists a sure 

 w^ay to recognize them, at least during 

 the first 36 hours after tlie issuing of 

 a swarm. — ( Voir le Cours d' Apicul- 

 ture de Hamet. ith Ed.. 1874, page 9o. 



The usufructuary, the farmer, the 

 tenant and all otlier possessors of an 

 uncertain title, have the right to 

 claim the swarms which settle upon 

 their lands; {Fotirnel, du Voisinaqe); 

 but the said swarms belong to the 

 land, and the tenant can only use 

 their products. — ( Vaudore. tome II,No. 

 210.) 



The bees are naturally personal 

 property, but they revert to the es- 

 tate by intent, when the hives have 

 been placed there by the proprietor 

 for the cultivation of the land. — (C. 

 civ., art. 524.) 



According to the Rural Code, bees 

 caimot be seized, nor sold for taxes or 

 debts ; except by the person from 

 whom they were bought, or the one 

 granting a title by lease or otherwise. 

 —(Titre I, Sec. 3. art. -2.) 



It must not be permitted, for any 

 cause, to disturb the bees in their 

 flight, [Code penal, art. 479), and even 

 in case of lawful seizure they must not 

 Ije moved during the months of De- 

 cember, January or February, (lb., 

 art. 3.) These prohibitions ("V^III and 

 IX) are not always enumerated by the 

 Civil Code. Among the many un- 

 seizable articles, bees are not there 

 mentioned. — (Art. 592 et suiv. et 1041.) 



Article 4.54 of the Penal Code in- 

 flicts a punishment by imprisonment 

 of from 6 days to 6 months, upon any 

 one convicted of having unneces- 

 sarily killed any domestic animal be- 

 longing to another. The Cour de Cas- 

 sation states it as a principle that 

 " under the general name of domestic 

 animals, art. 4-54 of tlw Penal Code is 

 included the other higher animals 

 which live, are fed, or reproduce them- 

 selves, under the protection of man." 

 As the bees are housed by man, and 

 receive his attention, they are con- 

 sidered domestic animals. — (Arret de 

 Cassation du 14 mars 1861.) 



According to Vaudore, the part- 

 owner of a colony of bees cannot com- 

 pel his co-partner to divide it; they 

 must litigate their riglits. (No. 211.) 

 This opinion cannot IJut appear to be 

 reasonable, inasmucli as the division 

 would be impossible, without damage 

 to both parties. 



In certain countries they have es- 

 tablished a sort of lease for bees ; the 

 proprietor yields his hive to a person 

 to take of it; after the time fixed 

 upon, they divide the proceeds. — (Dic- 

 tion de Frost de Royer, Abeilles.) 



The owners of the hives of bees are 

 responsible, according to article 1385 

 of the Civil Code, for injury which the 



