AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



761 



Bee-Ivawsuits are bound to be- 

 come very unpopular, if we may judge 

 by the way those who threaten to pester 

 bee-keepers decide not to do so when 

 they hear that there is a vigorous Bee- 

 Keepers' Union that is ready to defend 

 its members when unjustly attacked. 

 On page 570 we called attention to a 

 threatened persecution of Mr. H. D. 

 Davis, of Bradford, Vt., who, in a 

 lengthy letter, portrayed what seemed 

 likely to prove a calamity to him, should 

 the village authorities endeavor tj com- 

 pel him to move his bees. 



In another letter received recently, 

 Mr. Davis seems to have " come out on 

 top," in his trouble with malicious 

 neighbors. He says : 



The clause, "including honey-bees 

 under the rules of nuisances, if they 

 can be proven such to the general pub- 

 lic," was inserted in the village by-laws 

 at the village meeting on April 20, as 

 I expected it would be. There were but 

 about 15 persons present, and only 5 

 voted on the motion — those being the 

 neighbor I mentioned previously, his 

 hired man, and three friends of his. 



There was no opposition made except 

 by my attorney, who warned them that 

 they were only drifting into a lawsuit, 

 and that there had been cases of this 

 nature carried up to the Supreme Courts 

 where the corporations were defeated. 



One of the village trustees told me a 

 few days ago, laughingly, that I " had 

 heard the last of the matter." They 

 found I had no idea of not defending 

 myself, and I think they were somewhat 

 taken back to learn of the Supreme 

 Court decisions, and the work done by 

 the Bee-Keepers' Union. 



In my former letter I omitted to state 

 that I have had bees on my premises all 

 the time for the past 13 years, and have 

 never had any formal complaint of their 

 being a nuisance. I might quote the 

 words of the neighbor who lived nearest 

 the bee-yard (but died last fall), who, 

 when asked if the bees were not a nui- 

 sance to him, said : " No. As long as 

 I mind my own business, they never 

 trouble me." 



I wish to thank the Bee-Keepers' 

 Union for the interest taken, and moral 

 support given, in my behalf. 



H. D. Davis. 



After reading the correspondence and 

 comments on page 570, and then the 



foregoing letter, who will now say that 

 the Bee-Keepers' Union is not a verit- 

 able "Gideon's band," when it comes to 

 routing boastful enemies ? Bee-keepers 

 do not half realize what a grand bulwark 

 of defense is the Union, or they would 

 rally to its standard by the thousands 

 instead of by hundreds. Why, the 

 moral support and influence of such an 

 organization is of untold value to its 

 members ! 



In view of the liability of any bee- 

 keeper being threatened, as was Mr. 

 Davis, it behooves all, who care to main- 

 tain their rights with the least possible 

 expense and trouble, to join the Bee- 

 Keepers' Union, and thus not only be 

 prepared for unforeseen malicious per- 

 secution, but aid in forming such a 

 "Grand Army" of noble defenders of 

 the pursuit, as shall command victory in 

 advance of a serious engagement. 



Klo-wers are God's diamonds, the 

 beauty of which attracts the attention 

 of mankind universally. Their presence 

 made the paradise of our innocent child- 

 hood, while some of the happiest day§ of 

 our matured manhood were spent in the 

 company of those who loved amid the 

 shady bowers and climbing flowers of 

 the cottage garden. How frequently has 

 a single flower, in the hand of a friend, 

 brought solace and pleasure to the 

 weary sufferer ; and when decrepit age 

 shall mark our tottering footsteps, may 

 the lovely flowers be near by as a pre- 

 cious emblem, to remind us of the 

 eternal spring-time beyond the great 

 river of death. — ExcJutnge. 



Prof. A. J. Cook, who is so con- 

 stantly interested in everything touch- 

 ing upon the advancement of apiculture 

 in this country, writes very entertain- 

 ingly in an article for Oleaniims, on 

 apicultural experiments, which we copy 

 on page 764. It is both historical and 

 suggestive, and no doubt will be read 

 with much interest. 



