190 



GLEANINGS tN BEE CULTURE 



my friends who keep bees in the city were 

 present, and what a hand-shaking time we 

 had! 



Of all the beekeepers in my neighborhood 

 1 am the only one who is really making any 

 thing out of bees. The people never see any 

 one else carrying away honey as I do. They 

 also see me on the street cars with bundles 

 of queens in mailing-cages; therefore they 

 seem to forget that there are any other bees 

 than mine; so if a bee gives anybody any 

 trouble it's always mine, and I hear about it. 



I use up-to-date methods in caring for my 

 bees, to which I attribute mv success. I 

 have supplied my beekeeping neighbors with 

 queens, so it was impossible to identify my 

 bees. 



Many of my neighbors were willing to 

 testify for me, and some came and oifered 

 their services. ] shall alwa.ys feel ven' 

 giateful to them for their assistance. While 



I should very much have preferred to settle 

 the case on the strength of the testimony, it 

 possibly was better to have it dismissed. 



The man who had me arrested stated that 

 lie would have an ordinance passed prohib- 

 iting the keeping of bees in the city ; but we 

 have beat him to it, and the prosecuting 

 attorney has stated that it would likely be 

 unconstitutional. 



I have also learned something. The next 

 time any one tlu'eatens me with prosecution 

 I will go and see the prosecuting attorney 

 at once, talk the matter over with him in a 

 reasonable way, and that will end the trou- 

 ble. Any one who is likely to get into 

 trouble should remember that attorneys are 

 ignorant in regard to beekeeping, and are 

 likely to issue a warrant through ignorance, 

 and put one to a lot of trouble and expense 

 in defending himself. 



Kansas City. Mo. 



HIGGINS VS. VAN WYE ; A MAN WHOSE BEES GOT INTO COURT 



BY W. A. H. GILSTRAP 



The above action was called in the Supe- 

 rior Court of Stanislaus County, at Modes- 

 to, Cal., about 10:40 o'clock, Oct. 24, and 

 was concluded after sunset the same day. 

 The case was of special interest to the bee- 

 keepers of the county, and of passing inter- 

 est to many others. 



Mr. Higgins, in his complaint, said that 

 Mr. Van Wye's bees were located near his 

 home on the land of another person (Mr. 

 Garver), and that they came to his pump 

 and trough in great numbers, stinging his 

 stock, his family, his hired help, and him- 

 self, causing suffering and loss of service ; 

 that he wanted the bees removed, and called 

 for $400 damages. Mr. Van Wve denied il 

 all. 



The case had been thrashed out at the 

 meeting of the beekeepers at the Oct. 7th 

 session of the county club, and Mr. Van 

 Wye was strongly advised to move his bees 

 and avoid a suit. He in turn insisted that 

 we should help him in the suit, as it was 

 ours as much as his ; for if he could be made 

 to move his bees when some one wanted him 

 to, "others would have to do so, and there 

 would be no place left to keej^ bees. 



During the trial it was clear that Judge 

 Fulkerth wanted to get at the exact facts 

 and the proper remedy for the trouble. At 

 a remark from an attorney the judge said 

 in substance, " Bees are lawful property, 

 and beekeeping a good business. What the 

 court must determine is what the conditions 

 in this case are." He asked more vital ques- 

 tions than the lawyers, perhaps. 



The plaintiff said he fought the bees with 

 his hat till he was exhausted; that they 

 stung him and made him so nervous he 

 could not sleep; that in striking at a bee 

 with an oiler he struck near his eye and 

 made a bad wound on his face; that he 

 tliought he would be in the insane-asylum 

 in three months if the bees stayed there. 

 The bees were located there in June, 1912, 

 and he had offered the defendant a location 

 on his place further from his house, where 

 they would not bother him so much, but 

 defendant would not move them. When 

 (|uestioned he admitted his health was poor 

 before the bees were there. 



Mrs. H. said she was stung three times 

 the day before the trial; that the bees scared 

 her by getting in her hair and clothes, agree- 

 ing with Mn H. that their little girfhad 

 been laid up by beestings, but denied that 

 Mr. Higgins was made nervous by the 

 stings, saying she was the " nervous one." 



A man 25 or 30 years of age, perhaps, 

 was the best witness for the plaintiff. He 

 lived near, and was. stung on the. temple 

 while working for Mr. H., and lay uncon- 

 scious for some time in the alfalfa. He had 

 been stung on previous occasions without 

 serious results, and supposed the results of 

 that sting were from the place it struck him. 

 The bees were thicker at Mr. H.'s place than 

 where the witness (I forget his name) lived, 

 but at the hitter's place they were quite an 

 inconvenience. He was so candid and fair 

 in his statements that a person would have 

 to believe what he said. 



