Sept. IH, 1902. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



599 



The Bee in Law— Statutory Enactments. 



BY K. I). 1-ISllKK. 



/. I'reface. 



-■>. Offense against Private Property \ Unlawful linlicc- 

 ment of Bees. 



_;. Itecs, Property in. 



./. /tees, with Hives and Honey, Exempt frotn .{ttacli- 

 ment and /execution. 



5. Poison—Exposing with /ntcnt to /destroy /iees — Pen- 

 alties. 



!i. />ees. Entering Preinisi'S to Disturb or Carry axvay — 

 /''enalty. 



f /'rcvention of /''out /Irood among Bees — 3/ichigan. 



8. Same, Nebraska. 



0. Same, Colorado. 



10. Same, California. 



11. Same, Utah. 



12. Same, Wisconsin. 



1. I'KKFACE. 



It is the purpose of this article to supply in convenient 

 form a dipest of the whole body of statutory law concerning 

 bees and bee-keepers. The code of laws for each State is 

 supplied only by large libraries, and the wealth of material 

 on most subjects is somewhat confusing. It has been said, 

 "The difficulty is not so much to know the law as to know 

 where to find it." 



Our investigations during the preparation of previous 

 chapters of this series of articles have led to the belief that 

 it will be practicable to make a useful and satisfactory 

 digest of the law providing for the propagation, preserva- 

 tion, and protection of bees and bee-keepers. 



The concluding chapter is divided into such titles as 

 seem capable of separate treatment. In so far as our inves- 

 tigations could discover, none of the statutory law referred 

 to herein has been repealed 



A feature of the concluding chapter which seems worthy 

 of particular mention is the collection of statutes providing 

 for inspection of apiaries, and penalties. However, in this 

 and other respects the work must speak for itself. 



2. OFFKNSB AGAINST PRIVATE PROPERTV ; UNLAWFUL EN- 

 TICEMENT OF BEES — PENALTIES. 



Laws of Connecticut, 1882, Chap. 77. Central Stat. 1888. 

 Sec. 1466, provide that every person who shall place upon 

 the premises of another any tub, bos or other contrivance 

 for the purpose of enticing swarms of bees from the prem- 

 ises of their lawful owner shall be fined not more than seven 

 dollars or imprisoned not mote than thirty days. 



3. BEES, PROPERTY IN ; DEPOSITS ON LAND. 



Laws of Georgia, 1883, Chap. 2, Sec. 3074, Stat. 1895, 

 provide that any deposit made by wild animals on realty 

 belongs to the owner ; thus honey deposited by bees in a 

 tree belongs to the owner of the tree, though the bees may 

 be hived by another ; so the eggs and young of birds, or the 

 increase of animals (bees), so long as they remain unable 

 to leave the land, thej- belong to the owner. 



4. BEES, WITH HIVES AND HONEY, EXEMPT FROM EXECU- 

 TION. 



Statute of Vermont, 1894, Sec. 1805, provides that, 

 among the goods or chattels of a debtor which are exempt 

 from attachment and execution to satisfy a judgment debt, 

 are three swarms of bees and their hives, with their produce 

 in honey, provided the suit brought is not to recover pay- 

 ment for the purchase price thereof, or for material or labor 

 expended on the same. 



5. POISON, EXPOSING WITH INTENT TO DESTROY BEES — PEN- 

 ALTIES. 



Section 1247, Rev. Stat. Kentucky (Carroll), provides 

 that if any person on land or premises not in his possession 

 or under his control shall lay or expose any poisonous sub- 

 stance with intent to destroy honej'-bees he shall be fined 

 not less thin five nor more than fifty dollars. 



Same, Code and Stat. Washington Sec. 7161 (Laws '97, 

 p. 11; 

 wi( 

 kil 

 foj 



pi! ., _ 



ofAjuring honey-bees in any place where such poisoned or 

 sweetened substance is accessible to honey-bees within this 

 State. Any person or persons violating said law shall, upon 



ovides that it shall be unlawful for any person 

 State of Washington willfully or maliciously to 



ison any honey-bees. It shall further be unlawful 

 erson within said State willfully and maliciously to 



■poisonous or sweetened substance for the purpose 



conviction thereof, be punished by fine of not less than ten 

 dollars nor more than one hundred dollars. 



6. BEES, ENTERING PRKMrSRS TO DISTURB, STEAL, OR CABHV 

 AWAY— PENALTY. 



Laws of Ohio (Rev. Stat. 1«90 (S. &. B.), Sec. 6840) provide 

 that whoever unlawfully enters the premises of another for 

 the purpose of disturbing or carrying away any box, gum, 

 or vessel containing bees or honey, or injuring or carrying 

 away any such property, shall be fined not more than five 

 hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than sixty days or 

 both (60 A. 5, Sec. 1, S & S. 279). 



Same, Laws of Nebraska. 1879, Sec. 81, provide that, if 

 any person shall steal any hive, box, bee-palace, or other 

 contrivance containing honey or honey-bees, the property 

 of another, of less value than thirty-five dollars ; or if any 

 person shall steal honey from any such receptacle or other 

 contrivance, or shall willfully and maliciously disturb, in- 

 jure, or destroy any of the aforesaid receptacles or other 

 contrivances containing honey or honey-bees, or if any per- 

 son shall steal, or by art, device, or contrivance, or in any 

 manner whatever, decoy from any such hive, box. bee-pal- 

 ace, or contrivance any such honey-bees, with intent to con- 

 vert the same to his own use, or with intent to damage or 

 defraud the owner thereof, or by any art or device injure, 

 damage, or destroy any such honey-bees by means of poison 

 and otherwise, such offender shall be fined not exceeding 

 one hundred dollars, and confined in the county jail not less 

 than ten nor more than thirty days, and shall be liable to 

 the party injured in double the value of the property stolen, 

 injured, or destroyed. 



7. PREVENTION OF FOUL BROOD AMONG BEES. 



(a) Laws of Michigan (Howell's Ann'd Stat., 1882, Chap. 

 62), 1881, p. 125, makes it unlawful for any person to keep in 

 his apiary any colony of bees affected with contagious 

 malady known as foul brood, and makes it the duty of every 

 bee-keeper, as soon as he becomes aware of the existence of 

 said disease among his bees, forthwith to destroy or cause 

 to be destroyed by burning or interment all colonies thus 

 affected. 



(b) Wherever foul brood exists, or where there are good 

 reasons to believe it exists, it shall be lawful for any five or 

 more actual bee-keepers of any county of the State, to set 

 forth such facts, belief, or apprehension in a petition ad- 

 dressed to the judge of probate, whose duty it is to appoint 

 a competent bee-keeper of said county, as a commissioner, 

 to prevent the spread of said disease and to eradicate the 

 same; said commissioner to hold his office during the pleas- 

 ure of the court ; records of appointment and revocation 

 shall be filed with the petition as a part of the records of 

 the court. 



(c) Upon complaint of any three bee-keepers in writing 

 and on oath, to said commissioner, setting forth that said 

 disease exists, or that they have good reason to believe it 

 exists within said county, designating the apiary or apia- 

 ries, it is the duty of the commissioner to proceed at once to 

 examine the bees so designated; and when satisfied that 

 any colony or colonies of said bees are diseased with foul 

 brood, he shall place a distinguishing mark upon each hive 

 wherein exists said foul brood, and immediately notify the 

 person to whom said bees belong, personally or b}- written 

 notice, to remove or destroy said hives, together with their 

 entire contents, by burying them or by fire within five days. 

 In case no foul brood is found to exist in said apiary, the 

 persons so petitioning, or either of them, becomes liable to 

 said commissioner for the amount of his fees for such ser- 

 vices. 



((/) Any person neglecting to destroy or cause to be de- 

 stroyed said hives and contents, after notice and time 

 limited, shall be fined not more than twenty-five dollars or 

 by imprisonment not more than fifteen days or both. For 

 the second offense the fine may not exceed one hundred dol- 

 lars or imprisonment more than 60 days or both. 



{e) The commissioner is allowed two dollars per day for 

 his services, aid is paid by the county. But no fees are al- 

 lowed unless foul brood is found. 



(/) In all suits and prosecutions under this law, it is 

 necessary to prove that said bees were actually diseased, or 

 infected with foul brood. 



8. SAME, FOUL BROOD, DISEASED BEES. 



(a) Laws of Nebraska (Chap. 3, Act 1885, Chap. 8a, 

 Ann'd Stat. Neb., 1901); makes it unlawful for any one to 

 keep or have in possession in this State, any honey-bees, 

 brood-comb, or honey known to possess or to be infected 

 with the disease known as "foul brood," or any other infec- 



