742 



THE AMERICA]^ BEE JOURNAL. 



States. At the Assize Court in Walk- 

 erton, Ont., a few days ago, a case 

 was tried before Judge O'Connor, in 

 which a blacksmith named Mcintosh, 

 of Southampton, applied for an in- 

 junction to restrain his neighbor 

 Harrison from keeping bees. It ap- 

 pears that Harrison keeps about 80 

 colonies of bees. Mcintosh's com- 

 plaint sets forth that they are a great 

 nuisance, flying all over the neighbor- 

 hood and stinging people, and that 

 they are an especial annoyance to the 

 plaintiff, flying about his shop and 

 stinging horses. They were also very 

 troublesome around the house when 

 preserves were being made, swarm- 

 ing about the kitchen in large num- 

 bers. 



The jury brought in a verdict that 

 they were a nuisance, and that the 

 plaintiff was entitled to an injunction. 

 Judge O'Connor said it was a novel 

 case, and he would not grant the in- 

 junction, but reserved it for argument 

 in the full court. The case was 

 keenly contested, the trial occupying 

 more than a whole day. A large 

 number of witnesses were examined, 

 many of whom were brought from a 

 distance by the defence. As the 

 Judge has referred the matter to a 

 full court, declininjT to act on his own 

 individual responsibility, this case 

 when decided will have all the weight 

 of a precedent, and we shall know the 

 legal status of bee-keeping in " this 

 Canada of ours." As yet the press 

 has not discussed this matter to any 

 extent, the only article on the sub- 

 ject which I have seen being the fol- 

 lowing from the Montreal Witness of 

 Nov. 10, which I think is worthy of 

 being reproduced in the American 

 Bee Journal as a disinterested and 

 impartial utterance on the subject : 



" Is bee-keeping a public nuisance V 

 An Ontario jury, after listening to 

 the evidence of some neighbors of a 

 man who keeps 80 colonies, has de- 

 cided that it is, and that the neighbors 

 are entitled to an injunction restrain- 

 ing the man from keeping bees. The 

 Judge who presided over the court 

 has declined to grant the injunction, 

 but has reserved it for discussion 

 before a full court. This was, doubt- 

 less, a wise course, as bee keeping has 

 always been considered a most com- 

 mendable business enterprise which 

 should be encouraged. If it is to be 

 adjudged a nuisance because the bees 

 interfere to some extent with the 

 comfort and convenience of the neigh- 

 bors, then an industry which has 

 been rapidly growing in Canada will 

 receive a decided check. Bees wander 

 miles from their hives, so that bee- 

 keepers would, if this decision is en- 

 forced, have to reside in solitude. 

 The Egyptian bee-keepers, who keep 

 their hives on boats which they move 

 up and down the Nile in search of 

 pasture, calculate that the bees pas- 

 ture within a radiusof nine miles. In 

 Europe bee-keeping is encouraged in 

 many States. Russian peasants use 

 the honey instead of sugar, and the 

 Russian State Church uses so many 

 tapers that enormous quantities of 

 wax are needed for that purpose 

 alone. Germany goes so far as to pay 

 teachers to travel about through the 



rural districts and teach the best 

 methods of cultivation ; and common 

 school-masters have to pass an exami- 

 nation on the subject before they are 

 granted diplomas. The British Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, established un- 

 der the presidency o* Sir .John Lub- 

 bock, is a vigorous society which has 

 received much encouragement in 

 Great Britain. It must be confessed, 

 however, that when the neighbors go 

 in constant fear at all times of being 

 stung by bees, and are frequently 

 stung and disturbed in their business 

 by bees, there is reason to regard 

 them as a nuisance, and a jury would 

 probably return such a decision every 

 time. Most bees are better behaved, 

 however, and we can Hud no record 

 of a similar action at law complaining 

 of bees as a public nuisance." 



The Witness would have made a 

 strong point had it stated that the 

 Ontario Bee-Keepers' Association has 

 been recognized by the Provincial 

 Government as having charge of an 

 industry worthy of being fostered by 

 a grant from the public chest to the 

 extent of $600 a year. It would be a 

 queer anomaly for the Government 

 to subsidize what the judiciary de- 

 clared to be a nuisance. I shall not 

 be surprised, however, if the upshot 

 of this affair is the exclusion of api- 

 aries from the corporate limits of 

 cities, towns, and villages. A strong 

 feeling is growing up in this direction, 

 as our friend Hall, of Woodstock, and 

 others can testify. So far as there is 

 reasonable ground for making com- 

 plaint, bee-keepers must be prepared 

 to give due consideration to the rights 

 and interests of the community at 

 large. Personally, I shall not wait 

 for any lawsuit, but whenever evi- 

 dence is adduced that my bees are a 

 nuisance and annoyance to my neigh- 

 bors, I shall move them a safe distance. 



Guelph, Ont. 



[See remarks on page 739.— Ed.] 



For tliG American Bee JournaL 



The Elements of Fat, etc. 



A. J. COOK. 



has nitrogen any of the elements of 

 fat. Hibernating animals can live on 

 fat, as in their inactive state the 

 waste is so slight that the organs are 

 not seriously impaired, though there 

 is no nitrogenous food to build them 

 up. That is why our bees are better 

 off with no pollen. They are very 

 quiet, waste is very slight, so the 

 body is better off if there is no hearty 

 albuminous food to digest. I do not 

 reason that all organic food may be 

 converted into fat. I do argue, and 

 with truth, that all organic food may 

 minister in the economy of the body 

 to the formation of fat. All organic 

 food does not mean the inorganic 

 salts or water, but only the carbo- 

 hydrates, fats, and albuminoids. 



How much there is in a word. I 

 say, " We have seen that stored fat in 

 animals that hibernate, and in case of 

 disease, will alone keep up the nutri- 

 tion — jioJ nitrogen.* The first is truth ; 

 the latter absolute absurdity. It is pos- 

 sible, nay probable, that there may be 

 slight waste of tissues.but owing to the 

 inactivity this is almost nothing, 

 else albuminous food would be re- 

 quired. So we ought to keep our bees 

 in as quiet a state in winter as pos- 

 sible. Then the waste is so slight 

 that no nitrogenous food— pollen— is 

 required. 



Before I studied the subject I sup- 

 posed that bees actually hibernated. 

 Now we know that they do not ; but 

 if we can so reduce activity that they 

 will feel no need, and so not seek or 

 take pollen, we shall solve the winter 

 problem. I wish to have my bees all 

 winter in a room of about 45°, Fahr., 

 then with good honey or syrup I shall 

 have no fear, even if pollen be 

 present. 



Agricultural College, 9 Mich, 



[*Mr. Cushman wrote this word nu- 

 trition, but by an oversight it was 

 printed nitrogen.- Ed.] 



With no unkindness in my thought, 

 may I suggest that Mr. Cushman 

 should either study up this whole 

 question more thoroughly or else be 

 much more guarded in his quotationsV 

 AVhat 1 say is this: >«itrogenous 

 tissues may be robbed of their nitrogen 

 and further changed— into fat. This 

 is proved by disease where fatty de- 

 generation occurs. / do most certainly 

 deny that the greatest part of muscle 

 is nitrogen. Muscle is mainly myosin, 

 a proteid substance. These substances 

 —albuminoids— all contain from 14 to 

 18 per cent, nitrogen. According to 

 our best analysis the average propor- 

 tion is about as follows : Carbon, 52.8 

 per cent. ; hydrogen, 7.1 ; nitrogen, 

 16.6; oxygen,22.1; sulphur, 1.4 per cent. 

 Thus we see that all albuminoids con- 

 tain a large amount of carbon, oxy- 

 gen, and hydrogen,the elements of fat. 



While nitrogenous material may be 

 transformed into fat, nitrogen can 

 never be, as fat has no nitrogen, nor 



For tne American Bee Journal. 



LeEislation for Bee-Keepers. 



DK. C. C. MILLER. 



At the meeting of the North Ameri- 

 can Bee-Keepers' Society at Indian- 

 apolis, I was appointed one of a com- 

 mittee of three to inquire into the 

 desirability and feasibility of obtain- 

 ing certain legislation looking to the 

 securing of bee-keepers in their loca- 

 tions as to territory. In order that 

 we may make an intelligent report at 

 the next meeting, it is essential that 

 we obtain all the information possible 

 in the interim. One way is to obtain 

 the views of the bee-keepers, and 

 probably the very best way to do this 

 is through the medium of the bee- 

 papers. I cannot speak for the other 

 members of the committee, but I 

 think I am not assuming too much to 

 say that we shall be glad to get light 

 from any and every one. 



AVhen the resolution was first of- 

 fered in the convention, it was re- 

 ceived with very evident disapproba- 

 tion. A little reflection, however, 

 brought out the feeling that the mat- 



