170 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



So may it continue to be until we all shall 

 see eye to eye and feel heart to heart; 

 until all shall cling to virtue for virtue's 

 sake, and try to do good to our fellowmen 

 as the highest, holiest duty of man, 

 3IiUon, W. Va. 



The National Beekeepers' Union. 



EXTUACTS FROM THE GKNICRAL MANAGEli'S 

 IIKPORT roll -IIIE YKAK ENDING 



JUKE 30, 1888. 



It becomes the duty of your general 

 manager, at the end of the third year of 

 the existence of tiie National Beekeepers' 

 Union, to review the important events of 

 the fiscal year just ended, and with special 

 pride he inakJs the announcement that, 

 so far, the Union has been successful in 

 every case in defence of the pun^uit of 

 keeping bees. No decision has yet been 

 obtained inimical to the pursuit of bee- 

 keeping. 



The membership of the Union has not 

 increased as much as it was expected, but 

 this may be accounted for in the fact that 

 the drought of last summer prevented the 

 bees from gathering much honey, and 

 therefore beekeepers have felt too poor to 

 add to their ordinary expenses. 



In several cases your manager has been 

 consulted as to the best course to pursue 

 when beekeepers were threatened with 

 lawsuit, by envious or jealous mighbors. 

 After giving due consideration to the de- 

 tailed facts^in each case, they have been 

 advised as to the best course to pursue, 

 and in many cases lawsuits have been 

 averted by the conciliatofy measures ad- 

 vised by the Union. In two cases, where 

 the bees were really an injury to the neigh- 

 bors by being too close to the line where 

 sweaty horses were driven almost con- 

 stantly, the bees have i)een removed by 

 advice of your general manager, and thus 

 all trouble has been averted. In other 

 cases compromises have been advised, and 

 the wisdom of such has been seen in the 

 amicable relations now existing, where 

 trouble had been brewing. 



The "Rich" Lawsiiits. 



As mentioned in our last report, Mr. S. 

 W. Pvich, of Ilobart, N. Y., was sued by 

 a jealous and disagreeable neighbor for 

 f 1,200 danuiges, and also to compel him 

 to move his home-apiary outside the city 

 limits. Beekeepers from several states 

 attended the trial, which was held last 

 October before Judge Boardman, at the 

 Delaware county court. About forty wit- 

 nesses were called. 



The plaintiff asked for $1,200 damages 

 for injuries inflicted by the bees upon his ^ 

 person and property, but the jury, from ij 

 which every person having bees was ex- " 

 eluded, gave him but six cents to cover 

 wounded feelings and damaged property ! ! 



This virtually declared that the bees 

 were not a nuisance. The result is an 

 overwhelming defeat for the enemies of 

 the pursuit of beekeepinir, and another 

 victory for the National Beekeepers' 

 Union. 



But as the award of even six cents as 

 damages carried with it costs amounting 

 to $;4G8.0-t, the case has been appealed to 

 the Superior Court, which will cost about 

 $500 more. Judge Boardman ruled against 

 the bees every time, and in charging the 

 jury compared the bees to a pig-sty and a 

 slaughter-house. This was the first case 

 with one exception ever tried in the state, 

 and the judge having no law or precedent 

 to go by, ruled just as he thought right, 

 with the above result. 



It will not do to let beekeeping be lik- 

 ened to a pig- sty or a slaughter-pen! It 

 is an honest and honorable pursuit and its 

 rights must be preserved. This appeal 

 will be heard this fall, tlie Union having 

 engaged lawyers and guaranteed the ex- 

 penses of the new trial. Had the judge 

 been inclined to be as fair as the jury, 

 this would have been unnecessary. 



Arkadelphia " nuisance" case. 



This case, mentioned in the last report, 

 will come to trial about July 16, 1888. 

 Meanwhde,Mr. Clark has been sentto jail 

 in default of paying a daily fine for main- 

 taining a nuisance by keeping bees in 

 Arkadelphia, Ark. 



The Union has employed several of the 

 most noted attorneys in that state to de- 

 fend the case, and confidently expects a 

 decision in favor of the pursuit. It would 

 be very detrimental to the pursuit to allow 

 a decision against beekeeping to be put 

 upon record on the plea of its being a 

 " nuisance." 



Mr. Clark gives the following particu- 

 lars of the case : 



I was released ou a habeas co7-i)iis boml on 

 March 2. for my apiiearaiice at 10 a. m. the next 

 day. 1 luul not been homo with my I'amily more 

 than about three hours when I was re- arrested 

 and taken before the mayor and lined $1-1 and 

 costs, and remanded to jail agahi. Ol" course it 

 woukl be nonsense to pay the line and K<» baclt 

 and liave the same tiling to go over again thene.vt 

 dav. 



The mayor fined me one day wlien no one iiarl 

 seen any IJees about my iilaee. Jle sent tlie mar- 

 slial to my house to ascertain if lie ciuiid see any 

 bees— it was cool and no Viees were flying. The 

 marslial did not see Jiny bees, and swore that he 

 did not, i)ut tlic mayor lined me "all tlie sapie." 



We have aiijiealed all tlie cases— eleven in num- 

 ber—the flrst line was $.^),0(), and an .-idditional 

 dolhir for eacli day; Ihe last day's tine being 

 $15.00. IIo even lined iiic after we had made afli 



