380 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



and lips swollen, and that "it had cr?zy 

 spells." A veterinary was called, and he 

 at first called it a case of lockjaw; but, 

 possibly after he had been "posted" by 

 the aforesaid attorney, he reversed the opin- 

 ion, and caUed it a case of bee-sting poi- 

 son. Other veterinaries were called by 

 Mr. Pierson, but they did not agree that 

 the sjmptoms indicated stinging. Among 

 other foolish assertions, the petition set 

 forth that the defendant well knew that 

 the bees were "ferocious by nature;"' "li- 

 able to sting animals and mankind;" that 

 he had no right to keep them, and that he 

 should have kept them in their hives, etc. 

 Well, how the Association and Mr. Pierson 

 came out victorious is explained in the fol- 

 lowing, just received from Mr. Pierson him- 

 self: 



The plaintiff Frank Lockwood, a resident of Cayuga 

 Co., N Y., sued the defendant, J W Pier.'ion. a neigh- 

 boring beekeeptr and niembtr of the National Bee- 

 keepers' Association, in justice' court, for the value of 

 a horse vn hich, he alleged. " was slung and so injured 

 bv the defciiilanfs bees, on or about the '20th of June, 

 190:^. that she died." I^sue was joined and the de- 

 fense, aided by tlie N B K. A... successfully defended 

 the case The plaintiff Lockwood, after one trial in 

 justice's court a-ktd for a discontinuance, which was 

 gramed upon his payment of such costs as were legal- 

 ly chargeable to him. 



ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE ASSOCIATION. 



Just as we go to press the following has 



ccme to hand: 



MiLLSBORO, Del., April 13. '04. 

 Gentlfmen:— The ^uit of Wimbrow Bros against 

 Francis Uij den. bee-keeper, for the loss of a pair of 

 mules slung to death suniHiei before last was decided 

 in court yesterday by non-suit. He. Dryden, had not 

 been notified ly town boaid to rt move them was 

 his delense. and'the team was driven into a field and 

 left standing within a few feet of them. 



G. I,. Ellis. 



POSSIBILITIES OF BEE-KEEPING IN TEXAS, 

 THAT PARADISE FOR BEES. 



Our readers will remember that, some 

 time ago, after visiting Uvalde Co., Texas, 

 I referred to it as being a paradise for bee- 

 keepers. At the time some questioned the 

 statement, thinking I had overdrawn it. In 

 " Ten Texas Topics " is an article by Mr. 

 Udo Toepperwein, in which he quotes from 

 one of the prominent honey-producers of his 

 State. From two paragraphs of it I make 

 the following extract: 



Uvalde is now shipping honey by the train-load, and 

 the bee keepers there, as well as in a number of neigh- 

 boring counties, are actually getting rich at the busi- 

 ness. It will not be many years before all the hollow 

 trees are cut, the caves robbed, and the bees put into 

 up-to date hives ; and then we mav expect the produc- 

 ing of honey to be one of our chief indusiries. It may 

 surprise sorfie to know that even now there are bee- 

 keepers in Texas who own over a thousand colonies 

 of bees. Within a few years such a number will not 

 be an unusual thing. 



As those who are informed know, according to the 

 last census Texas is the leading State in the produc- 

 tion of honey and the value of apiarian products In 

 1899 there whs produced in Texas 4 780.264 pounds of 

 honey and 169,690 pounds of beeswax, valued at $468,- 

 527 60. We produce nearly a million pounds mo e of 

 honey than any other State; and beekeepers from 

 other .sections, who are aware of our advantages, are 

 locating every year in our midst. In neirlv every 

 portion of Texas beekeeping piys; but it finds its 

 b St place in South and Southwest Texas, where the 

 flora IS so extensive and so well adapted to the produc- 

 tion of honey. Texas has never known an entire fail- 

 ure in the honey crop, which is something that can not 



be said of any other State. For these reasons I believe 

 South and Southwest Texas to be the best bee country 

 in the wor'd, and a section in which entire conndence 

 can be placed in the pioduction of a honey crop every 

 year, thi s making it a staple and certaii source of lev- 

 enue to those engaged in it As jet there are millions 

 of acr' s in this section where no oee has ever yet made 

 its appearance, and the opportunities and prospects 

 for development are unlimited. 



So far as I am acquainted with the field 

 referred to, the statements made are not far 

 from the truth. One of my Texas friends 

 says it is literally true — every word of it. 



Uvalde Co. has now all the bee-keeptrs 

 and bees it can support. But there are oth- 

 er counties, sparsely settled, that have con- 

 ditions very similar to those afforded by 

 Uvalde, and these would support bees and 

 beekeepers. The only question that re- 

 mains is whether the tenderfoot would care 

 to leave home and friends and go into a 

 sparsely settled field that seems almost like 

 a desert, even though it may be a paradise 

 for bees. The scrubby plants or trees of 

 the catclaw, mesquite, and guajilla do not 

 look as if they would yield an}' honey; but 

 the fact that Uvalde Co. is shipping out 

 honey by the train-load is significant. 



WINTER LOSSES UP TO DATE. 



Winter losses throughout the northern 

 portion of the country are about the same 

 as reported in our last. Michigan and New 

 York, as before, lead off with the heaviest 

 mortalities. Reports are beginning to come 

 in from Canada, showing losses both in On- 

 tario and Quebec — much heavier than usu- 

 al. Some of the States along the Atlantic 

 coast are reporting anywhere from 30 to 90 

 per cent of the bees dead. The losses still 

 seem to be confined mainly to bees wintered 

 outdoors, and to those bee-keepers who have 

 had a short experience. 



THE OHIO FOUL-BROOD BILL. 



The Herrick foul-brood bill, as amended, 

 passed the Ohio Senate U st Tuesday, April 

 12. It was discovered, while in the Senate 

 committee, as it came from the House, that 

 there was one little feature in it that was 

 unconstitutional. This was amended, and 

 was then passed by the Senate, and now 

 goes back to the House for concurrence, 

 where it will undoubtedly pass. 



A. I. Root was present in the Senate when 

 the bill came up for consideration. One 

 Senator seemed to think it was a piece of 

 class legislation that would benefit only a 

 very few bee keepers, and endeavored to 

 convey the impression that it should give 

 place to more important measures that were 

 up for consideration. Another Senator, 

 and he was backed by many others, said he 

 had received more letters and telegrams 

 concerning this bill than he had for any 

 other measure that was up for considera- 

 tion in the Senate, and he made a strong 

 plea for the bill. This only goes to show 

 that Gleanings readers carried out my re- 

 quest* to write to their Senators in a way 

 that made '\\.%&\i felt tremendously. Further 

 announcements will be given later. 



