POISONING BEES 291 



LAWS PKOTECTING THE BEE-KEEPEr's PROPERTY 



As has already been stated, the bee-keeper is as fully pro- 

 tected in the property rights in bees as in any other domestic 

 animals. Should anyone steal a colony of bees he could be prose- 

 cuted for larceny in probably any State. 



Spraying While Trees are in Bloom. — There is a greater 

 danger to the bees, however, than ordinary theft. It is a com- 

 mon practice to spray fruit trees with poisonous liquids to con- 

 trol insect pests. The fruit growers are not always sufficiently 

 careful as to the time when these sprays are applied and the 

 wholesale destruction of bees sometimes results from the appli- 

 cation of sprays while the trees are in bloom. A number of 

 States have passed laws prohibiting the spraying of fruit trees 

 while in bloom, for the sole purpose of protecting the bee-keeper. 



The law on this subject enacted by the State of Xew York 

 is representative of the laws in force in the various States. It 

 is worded as follows: 



Any person who shall spray with, or apply in any way, poison or any 

 poisonous substance, to fruit trees while the same are in blossom, is guilty 

 of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than ten dollars nor 

 more than fifty dollars; provided, however, that nothing in this section 

 shall prevent tlie directors of the experiment stations at Ithaca and Geneva 

 from conducting experiments in the application of poison and spraying 

 mixtures to fruit trees while in blossom. 



A somewhat similar law is in force in Canada. In States 

 where such laws have not been passed there is bitter complaint 

 on the part of the bee-keepers that their bees are destroyed or 

 they are compelled to move their apiaries. 



Poisoning Bees. — It sometimes happens that malicious per- 

 sons will put out poisoned honey or syrup for the purpose of 

 destroying the bees. It hardly need be said that such an act 

 does not differ materially from a legal standpoint from poisoning 

 any other domestic animals. A few States have passed specific 

 statutes providing fine and imprisonment for the malicious 

 poisoning of bees. 



