916 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1 



brood-capping^s are not entirely air-tight, 

 but enough so to keep out the fumes unless 

 great care is used. I should not think of 

 disinfecting^ combscontaininghoney with the 

 disease germs in it, especiall}' if that honey 

 were capped over, for it would be contrary 

 to reason and experience in other thing's. 



ANOTHER bee-suit; BEES "DANGEROUS AN- 

 IMALS;" STUFF AND NONSENSE. 



Mr. J. W. PiERSON, secretary of the New 

 York State Association of Bee keepers' So- 

 cieties, has a queer bee-suit on his hands. 

 A neighbor of his, Mr. F. \V. Lockwood, 

 has begun an action against him to recover 

 $150 for a horse which, he alleges, died as 

 the result of bee- stings while feeding in a 

 pasture heavily matted with clover, near 

 Mr. Pierson's bees. The plaintiff avers 

 that last June his horse was in his clover- 

 field pasturing-; that the bees were very 

 thick on the clover — so thick that he was 

 afraid the cattle would be stung-. Wednes- 

 day morning-, June 24, he found one of his 

 horses fast in a barbed-wire fence. Its 

 nose and lips, he alleges, were swollen, 

 and it had crazy spells ever3' fifteen or 

 twentyminutes; that it would thrash around 

 and strike with its fore feet. A veterinary 

 was called, who first pronounced it a case 

 of lockjaw. He gave it something to cause 

 a stupor; but when told that bees were in 

 the pasture where the horse was feeding-, 

 he reversed his first decision and pronounc- 

 ed it a case of bee- sting poison. Applica- 

 tions of hot water were used, but to no 

 avail. It is alleged further that this same 

 veterinary examined the horse after it was 

 dead, and found its mouth and throat full 

 of bee-stings. Other veterinaries have been 

 consulted b}' Mr. Pierson in regard to the 

 case, but they do not agree that the symp- 

 toms shown by the horse point to any thing 

 that would indicate bee-stings as the cause 

 of the trouble. Mr. Pierson states that 

 there are other bee-keepers in the vicinity, 

 or at least within two miles. In the peti- 

 tion praying for damages, the plaintiff 

 claims that the defendant's bees stung 

 and injured his horse so that it died; that 

 the defendant well knew the "ferocious" 

 nature of all bees, and that they were " li- 

 able to sting animals and mankind without 

 any provocation that an ordinary person 

 knew how to avoid, and that they were by 

 nature dangerous." He further goes on to 

 say that the "defendant had knowledge of 

 the ferocious nature of his bees, took no 

 care or means to keep them within the con- 

 fines of his own premises, but allowed them 

 to roam at will on the premises of his neigh- 

 bor, to pillage therefrom, and carry away 

 and injure and destroy the crops of said 

 neighbor; to injure and kill his animals, 

 and to intimidate his said neighbors and 

 endanger their lives, and to render them 

 unsafe and unavailable to them;" where- 

 fore he asks damages in the sum of $150, 

 and the cost of the action. 

 The defendant, the bee-keeper, very prop. 



erly enters a denial, stating that his bees 

 are kept in accordance with the law, and 

 that he has been in no way negligent in the 

 care of his bees. General Manager N. E. 

 France, of the National Bee-keepers' Asso- 

 ciation, has had all the facts placed before 

 him, and has authorized W, F. Marks, one 

 of the directors, to look after the case. 



The statements or charges made by the 

 plaintiff' in this case are most absurd and 

 ridiculous — especially where he alleges that 

 bees are "dangerous animals," that they 

 "carry off crops," and that they prey on 

 the lives and propert}' of the people round 

 about, and implies that no one has any 

 business to keep them or allow them to go 

 off from his own premises. 



It appears that Mr. Lockwood would 

 probably not have begun this action; but a 

 certain attorney, hungry for a job, has been 

 nagging him on to it. 



The case comes before a justice' court, 

 and every thing will depend en whether or 

 not the justice is a fair man, willing to re- 

 ceive evidence and render judgment accord- 

 ingly. In case the decision should be ad- 

 verse to Mr. Pierson, 1 hope the Associa- 

 tion will enter an appeal, as the member- 

 ship could not afford to have a precedent so 

 ridiculous and silly as this to stand against 

 us. It is bad enough when an effort is made 

 to drive- bees out of incorporated villages 

 and towns; but it would be a pretty pass if 

 one could not keep bees out on the farm or 

 in the country, or if we must keep them on 

 our own premises to prevent them from 

 " carrying off crops." 



We shall endeavor to keep our readers 

 posted in the developments in this case. In 

 the mean time we confidentl}' hope and ex- 

 pect that the Association will score another 

 victory. It has never been beaten. 



I have no doubt that friend Marks and 

 others who have charge of the case will let 

 it be known that the plaintiff has the odds 

 of 1500 members of the Association against 

 him, with a treasury of money back of 

 them, to fight this case to a finish. Mr. 

 Pierson says his bees have always been 

 very quiet; and that, so far from their be- 

 ing " ferocious,'" it is absurd. 



Even if it be proven that the horse died of 

 bee-stings, the plaintiff will have to show 

 that it was Mr. Pierson's bees, and his 

 bees only, that did the stinging. This was 

 the charge given by the judge to the jury in 

 the celebrated Utter v. Utter trial in Janu- 

 ary, 1901. 



Later. — I have just learned from Director 

 Marks that this case has been postponed by 

 the "other side," and he doubts very much 

 whether it will ever come to trial, as " it is 

 so ridiculous." Whenever either side shows 

 a disposition to postpose, it may, and usu- 

 ally does, imply a lack of confidence to 

 meet the issue. It looks so in this case. In 

 the mean time I hope Director Marks will 

 let the "other side " know the odds it has 

 to fight, and that it might just as well 

 " throw up the sponge " first as last. 



