666 



Tmm rnvmsmicmm mmm jQ'^mi^jei,. 



that, occasionally, swarms had settled 

 on theiv grounds, and that one or two 

 children had been once stung by a bee. 

 He then adds : 



Gentlemen, it is perfectly clear that where 

 such occurrences are possible, apiculture can- 

 not progress. According to the farm-stock 

 census for Prussia in the year 1873, there 

 were then 1,459,415 colonies of bees counted, 

 which, taking- the colony at 15 marks, repre- 

 sents a total value of '21,891,225 marks. By 

 the census of 1883, there were only 1,238,040 

 colonies, or nearly a quarter of a million less. 

 The national wealth invested in these colonies 

 of bees had therefore been reduced in these 

 ten years by nearlj' three and a quarter million 

 of marks. 



In the statistics for 1888, I find the bees 

 were not included at all, and also in the report 

 of the Minister to His Majesty, upon the agri- 

 cultural matters in Prussia, bee-keeping is not 

 mentioned. This is a proof that apiculture, 

 although a very important side-branch of 

 agriculture, is not valued and appreciated as 

 It deserves to be. The further decline of our 

 bee-culture is unavoidable, and must go on 

 even more rapidly, unless legislative measures 

 be taken better to protect both the bee-keep- 

 ing and the bee-keepers. 



Herr Letocha here referred to the 

 fact that a Bill, such as he now 

 brought in, had been introduced into 

 the Imperial Parliament (Reichstag) 

 in 1883, and had been well received 

 and very influentially supported ; but 

 owing to an early close of the session, 

 could not then pass through the later 

 stages. It had been prepared under 

 the advice of thirteen of the highest 

 authorities in bee-culture, including 

 Dr. Dzierzon. 



It was not again brought before the 

 Reichstag because it was found in the 

 meantime that the body was not com- 

 petent to deal with the internal regu- 

 lations of the ditierent German States, 

 as this Bill would have to do. He 

 finally stated that the Bill he now sub- 

 mitted, contained four sorts of provi- 

 sions — the first relating to the right of 

 keeping bees, and the property of the 

 the bee-keeper in his colonies and 

 swarms ; the second, to police and ad- 

 ministrative regulations with regard to 

 the location of apiaries, and of the bee- 

 hives brought out to the fields in the 

 period of bloom, with fixed lines for 

 the contravention of such regulations ; 

 thirdly, the imposition of penalties for 

 wilful and improper destruction of 

 strange bees, laj' means of poison, 

 water, steam, etc. ; and fourthly, regu- 

 lations for the suppression of foul 

 BROOD, which he described as a 

 " plague which can destroy whole api- 

 aries, not only in small localities, but 

 in an entire province." 



It will now be a matter of interest 

 to see how this Bill fares in the Prus- 

 sian Parliament ; but whatever the 

 fate of the measui-e may be, we have 

 here a proof that important legislative 

 bodies, such as that of the Kingdom of 

 Prussia and the Imperial German Par- 

 liament, the latter representing over 

 sixty millions of people, notwithstand- 

 ing the weighty matters upon which 

 they have to deliberate, can spare time 



and attention to consider the whole 

 question of the protection and encour- 

 agement due to apiculture upon prin- 

 ciples of State policy, while a certain 

 duodecimo parliament sitting " in 

 another place " appears to be so over- 

 powered by the labor of legislating for 

 some half million of colonies, that it 

 cannot aft'ord the necessary time to 

 deliberate upon a short, useful, and, 

 I believe, unopposed measure, intended 

 to save a young country from the dam- 

 age likely to arise from the spread of 

 foul brood among its bees, although 

 the Bill is so short and so simple that 

 it might well be disposed of by any 

 parish vestry meeting in half-an-hour. 



TAXING BEES. 



Arc Bcc« Taxable in the State 

 of Iowa? 



Written for tUc American Bee Journal 



BV EUGENE SECOB. 



The query propounded by G. B. 

 Olney, on page 620, is one which seems 

 to puzzle not only a good many bee- 

 keepers, but also some persons who, 

 by viritue of their office, Interpret the 

 Revenue Laws. 



The question, "Are bees taxable ?" 

 must be decided by the laws of the 

 State where they are kept. They may 

 be taxable in one State, and exempt in 

 another ; therefore, what I shall have 

 to say on the subject relates only to 

 Iowa. 



If I remember rightly, this question 

 was ably answered in these columns 

 several years ago by Dr. Oren, but as 

 there are undoubtedly many new sub- 

 scribers. I will give my interpretation 

 of the Iowa law. Indeed, it needs no 

 interpretation, the statute being so 

 plain that anj' one, it seems to me, 

 ought to be able to .imderstand it. I 

 will quote from the Revenue Laws, and 

 from Section 797, which is the section 

 specifying the exemptions : " The fol- 

 lowing classes of property are not to be 

 taxed, and they maj' be omitted from 

 the assessments herein required." 

 Paragraph 4 of that section reads, 

 " Animals not hereafter specified." 



Taxable property is "specified " un- 

 der Section 801, and the "Animals" 

 therein named are " horses, cattle, 

 mules, a.sses, .sheep and swine." That 

 is all the law there is treating directly 

 or indirectly on this subject, except the 

 quotation below. 



Now, one question that is likely to 

 arise is, "Is a bee an animal ?" If not, 

 they may be classed in the "All other 

 property, real and personal," which 

 " is subject to taxation in the manner 

 directed." But if bees are not animals, 

 what are thev ? Webster defines the 



word animal thus: "An organized 

 living being, endowed with sensation 

 and the power of voluntarj' motion ; 

 and also characterized by taking its 

 food into an internal cavity or stomach 

 for digestion ; by giving carbonic acid 

 to the air and taking oxygen in the 

 process of respiration ; by increasing^ 

 in motive power or active, aggressive 

 force with the ])rogressto maturity." 



Bees are animals. Some trj- to ex- 

 cuse their consciences for wanting ta 

 tax bees on the ground that they are 

 property, and ought to share their just 

 burden of taxation. But bees are not 

 onlj- animals exempt, yet we seldom 

 hear of a word of complaint regarding 

 the others. Geese, turkeys, hens, 

 pigeons, guineas, peacocks, *dogs, 

 cats, tame rabbits and fish are all ani- 

 mals, yet the assessor never inquires 

 after the amount of capital that we 

 have invested in them. They are ex- 

 empt under the Section above quoted. 



I may open a poultry farm and in- 

 vest 15,000 in fine birds, yet the stock 

 would be exempt under the law. I 

 may construct a car]) pond and raise 

 fish enough to supply my family, but 

 the carp are exempt. I might start an 

 ostrich farm and the birds would be 

 exempt from taxation under the pres- 

 ent law, even though they cost $1,000 

 apiece. The proper tools of every 

 farmer and mechanic to the amount of 

 $300 are exempt from taxation. 



It the Legislature had intended that 

 all the before-mentioned animals should 

 be taxed, they would not have ex- 

 empted them. 



As an instance where visible prop- 

 erty wholly escapes taxation with the 

 sanction of law, take poultrj-. The 

 census report fi'r 1880. shows the num- 

 ber of all kinds in the State on June 

 1st of that year, to have been 8,539,- 

 714. At 20 cents each (not an ex- 

 travagant estimate), the value was 

 more than a million and a half dollars 

 (11,707,942). The value of the eggs 

 produced in 1879, at 12 cents per 

 dozen, was 13,870,471. 



The number of colonies of bees in 

 the State is not given in the census re- 

 port for 1880, but the honev produced 

 in 1879 was 1.310,138 pounds. At 12i 

 cents per pound, the value was $163,- 

 767, about one twenty-third part of the 

 value of the prod net from poultry. We 

 do not hear anything about taxing 

 poultry, and I think that it is about 

 time that they give bee-keepers a rest. 



*Under a recent law, dogs are taxed, 

 but it is a sort of a per capita tax, and 

 not according to the value of the ani- 

 mal. Its object is to raise a fund with 

 which to pay losses to the owners of 

 sheep or other domestic animals, 

 caused by dogs. 



Forest City, Iowa. 



