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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Whose are the Bees and Honey 

 in Bee-Trees? 



Query 841.-1. If I buy a woodland on 

 which is a bee-tree containing a lot of honey 

 and bees, unbeknown to me, has anybody 

 the right, who finds them, to claim the bees 

 and honey ? 2. If he has, and I put a sign up, 

 "No Trespassing Allowed," would he then, 

 under those conditions, have the right ? I am 

 no lawyer, but have had quite an argument 

 over this question.— P. R. O. 



I should say he had no right. — J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



Look for Mr. R. L. Taylor's answer. 

 I think he can solve this question. — H. 

 D. Cutting. 



1. No. 2. In any case he is a tres- 

 passer to cut a tree on your land, or to 

 remove anything from it. — M. Mahtn. 



What the law would allow in such a 

 case I don't know ; but custom of the 

 place will rule in most places.— E. 

 France. 



That's outside my experience, but a 

 Nebraska J. P. tells me he can take the 

 honey in any case if he does not injure 

 the tree. — C. C. Miller. 



We think, legally, no one has 'any 

 right to the bees except the owner of 

 the land. As to custom, it is another 

 thing.— Dad ant & Son. 



1. No, sir ! You buy the bees, honey 

 and all, just as much as the trees on the 

 land. 2. He would have no right in 

 law to trespass on your enclosed land, 

 with or without such sign. — C. H. Dib- 

 bern. 



No ; and it is my opinion that the 

 owner of the land does not need to put 

 any sign up in order to hold what he 

 has bought. " No trespassing " in Ohio 

 is addressed to squirrel hunters and the 

 like. — G. L. Tinker. 



Go with the man and help him cut the 

 tree, and have a little fun. This is far 



better than having a quarrel over the 

 matter. The rule (I don't say law) here 

 is, that the man who finds the bee-tree 

 has a right to the bees and honey ; but 

 he has no right to cut the tree without 

 the owner's consent.— G. M. Doolittle. 



1. Yes, he may claim them, but he 

 has no right to go upon your land, nor 

 to cut the tree without your permission. 

 2. Your sign would not affect the mat- 

 ter—trespassing is never lawful, sign or 

 no sign.— R. L. Taylor. 



The finder owns the bees and honey, 

 but he must get them without injuring 

 your tree, else he is liable to damages. 

 I should say, shake hands, join interests, 

 and after the honey is secured, have a 

 mutual sweetening up. — A. J. Cook. 



1. It may depend upon the statute of 

 the State where the land is located. In 

 Iowa, I think a person removing the 

 bees or honey without permission of the 

 owner of the land, would be a trespasser, 

 whether a sign were up or not. — Eugene 

 Secor. 



No ; the bees and honey are yours — 

 the same as fruit, such as grapes, mul-' 

 berries, or wild plums would be ; and 

 persons cutting bee-trees, or trees in 

 which squirrels or 'coons had a home, 

 could be prosecuted for trespass.— Mrs. 

 L. Harrison. 



1. No one has a right to trespass on 

 another's land for bees or anything else. 

 The bees, though, are common property 

 until reduced to possession. 2. No one 

 but an owner of land has any business 

 putting up notices forbidding trespass- 

 ing.— J. E. Pond. 



When you buy realty, and no reserva- 

 tions are made, you own everything con- 

 nected therewith that had been in the 

 lawful possession of the former owner. 

 Laws differ somewhat in the different 

 States. Consult some good attorney 

 near you, stating the facts as they exist 

 in your particular case.— Mrs. J. N. 

 Heater. 



Certainly, the bees, combs and honey 

 belong to the discoverer under the com- 

 mon law of treasuretrove. The land and 

 tree are yours, but you cannot cut the 

 tree without first notifying the bee- 

 owner, nor can he cut your tree without 

 your consent. Each has rights which 

 the other is bound to respect.— James 

 Heddon. 



I am not a lawyer, and therefore can- 

 not answer with any degree of positive- 

 ness. But there is in most localities an 



