614 



AMERICAN BEE lOUKNAL 



Sept. 25 1902 



ceming the Utter vs. Utter case, that resulted in a verdict 

 for the bees. Many other incidents might be cited, but I 

 can not give them from memory. 



Third — The National Bee-Keepers' Association is the 

 only organization that is national in its general character. 

 It is, therefore, the representative national body through 

 which the interests of bee-keepers throughout the United 

 States are cared for. Besides the annual meetings, which 

 are a constant source of inspiration and help to the bee- 

 keepers wherever it goes, it has added to its credit some- 

 thing like SIOOO, and a membership of nearly 1000 bee-keep- 

 ers. Its power is getting to be tremendous ; but there are 

 many things it can not do for lack of funds and lack of 

 membership ; and every one who is interested in advancing 

 the interests of bee-keeping should enroll himself as a mem- 

 ber. Your whole organization ought to join in a body, thus 

 securing the privilege of the benefits at SO cents per mem- 

 ber ; but to get this rate of 50 cents your society should join 

 in a bodv. Yours respectfully, 



E. R. Root. 



Mr. Root was president for two years, and has been one 

 of the directors for a number of years of the National Asso- 

 ciation, and knows whereof he speaks. 



We have attended the last three National conventions, 

 and, I tell you, it is a treat no bee keeper should miss. If 

 one ever comes your way be sure to make an extra effort to 

 attend. The deliberations are interesting and instructive, 

 and one realizes, as never before, the hearty good-will ex- 

 isting among bee-keepers. 



Contributed Articles 



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Benefits of Being: a Member of the National. 



BY V. SHEBAT. 



I desire to say a few words through the American Bee 

 Journal to the bee-keepers of America. 



I have been a member of the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Association for 12 years, but I have never appreciated the 

 value of a membership in the organization until this sum- 

 mer. 



I have lived in this city for many years, and for more 

 than 13 years have kept about 60 colonies of bees on a lot 

 that I own here, and have never had any complaint made to 

 me about ray bees doing any damage or being a nuisance in 

 any sense of the word until this summer. 



A large church is situated on the corner opposite the lot 

 where my bees are located, but no complaint was ever made 

 that they annoyed or injured any one. This summer a 

 large church school for girls was commenced on the lot 

 adjacent to mine, and a city ordinance was manipulated 

 through our city council declaring it a misdemeanor for 

 any one to keep bees in our city " within 600 feet of any 

 church, schoolhouse, or other public building, or within 300 

 feet of any dwelling in said city." This ordinance was 

 passed in the latter part of July, and within a few days 

 thereafter two actions were begun against me under said 

 ordinance, and one under our State law, which declares, 

 " Any act or omission which injures, annoys, or endangers 

 the comfort, repose, health, or safety of any considerable 

 number of persons a public nuisance." These were all 

 criminal actions, and I was arrested in each case. 



The case under the State law was virtually abandoned 

 for lack of evidence, and I was declared not guilty, but the 

 case under the new city ordinance was prosecuted with bit- 

 terness and venom. The trial was in our Recorder's Court 

 before a jury, and lasted the whole of one day. 



My attorney. Col. J. T. Bowditch, defeuded me on the 

 following grounds, viz.: 



1st. That the ordinance was not authorized by our city 

 charter. 



2d. That the city council had no power to make a nui- 

 sance of any act by passing an ordinance against it, unless 

 the act itself zvas in fact a nuisance. 



3d. That the ordinance in question resulted in taking 

 and damaging private property for public use without just 

 compensation to the owner, contrary to the Constitution of 

 the United States and of this State ; that it abridged the 



natural rights of private citizens ; that it was unreasonable 

 and unjust. 



4th. That if the keeping of bees contrary to the terms 

 of the said city ordinance was a nuisance at all it was a 

 private nuisance, for which all persons injured thereby had 

 their redress in the courts, and was such a nuisance that 

 could not be regulated by any general ordinance or law. 



These were the main points in my defence, but, of 

 course, each one was greatly elaborated by mj' attornej'. 



I am happy to saj- that the jury returned a verdict " Not 

 guilty," and I have since received the congratulations of 

 many bee-keepers on the happy ending of the vicious fight 

 that was made against me. 



My chief object in writing this communication is to 

 thank the National Bee-Keepers" Association publicly for 

 the valuable aid it rendered me in this fight, and to impress 

 upon all bee-keepers the benefits derived from belonging to 

 such an organization. 



In the beginning I informed the officers of the Associa- 

 tion of the passage of the ordinance and dangers threaten- 

 ing me. They at once forwarded to me valuable briefs for 

 the use of my attorneys, and suggestions how to proceed if I 

 should be arrested. My attorney says the briefs furnished 

 were of great assistance to him in preparing my defence, that, 

 in fact, they lightened his labors fully one-half. 



After the case was decided I sent to the General Man- 

 ager, Eugene Secor, a statement of the cases against me, 

 and also a statement of the costs I had incurred in defend- 

 ing myself. I at once received a check for S+0, to pay a 

 part of the expenses I had been put to. Surely, this is an 

 Association worth belonging to, and it seems to me that we 

 ought to do all in our power to support and aid any institu- 

 tion that does as much for us as the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Association. Wabasha Co., Minn. 



Flat vs. Grooved Top-Bars— Wiring Frames 

 —Other Devices. 



BY F. GREINEK. 



The ingenuity of man is always at work to improve on 

 the things we use. The V-shaped top-bar was devised to 

 secure straight combs. The wooden comb-guide was to 

 accomplish the same object. But not until comb founda- 

 tion came into general use did we secure the object sought 

 for perfectly. The next question was. How best to attach 

 the comb foundation to the top-bar of the frame? Differ- 

 ent methods are employed. The simplest manner consisted 

 of running melted wax along the top-bar where the comb 

 foundation joined it. Many of us have practiced this for 

 years. Then we thought a saw-kerf would come very 

 handy ; consequently we run our top-bars over a saw, placed 

 the foundation in the groove, and fastened it with wax or a 

 wedge. This brought the guide exactly where it was 

 wanted, and appeared satisfactory. Others made top-bars 

 of two halves and secured the foundation between them. 

 This, also, worked well. However, when frames are used a 

 second time a top-bar with a saw-kerf in it can not be so 

 prepared as to make use of the kerf as when the frame was 

 new. The saw-kerf is then nothing but a bother. Many 

 bee-keepers have, therefore, come to the conclusion that a 

 flat, smooth top-bar is best. They may easily be cleaned 

 and made ready to receive again the strip or sheet of foun- 

 dation. . 



In order to make a neat and quick job of running the 

 starters on by hot wax a simple little implement comes very 

 handy to dip up and administer the wax. Below is a draw- 

 ing (Fig. 1) showing the little ladle as I made it. Any one 



Fig. 1. — Ladle fur Kaste/iint/ Comb Foundation. 



can fix up something of the kind from a piece of stout tin 

 1 '4 inches wide by 5 inches long, and a piece of wood ,'i inch 

 square and 4 inches long for the handle. 



A tea-spoon may be used for the same purpose, but a 

 ladle, like the one shown, is very much better, as the bowl 

 of the same holds sufficient wax to run on a long strip of 

 foundation, and with it one may direct the stream of wax 

 just to the place where needed without the danger of spill- 

 ing. It enables one to fasten foundation in the frames as 

 rapidly as I have been able to do it by other methods. 



