AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



573 



scribers, I will give my interpretation of 

 the Iowa law. Indeed, it needs no in- 

 terpretation, the statute being so plain 

 that any one, it seems to me, ought to be 

 able to understand it. I will quote from 

 the Revenue Laws, and from Section 

 797, which is the section specifying the 

 exemptions : "The following classes of 

 property are not to he taxed, and they 

 may be omitted from the assessments 

 herein required." Paragraph 4 of that 

 section reads, "Animals not hereafter 

 specified." 



Taxable property is "specified" un- 

 der Section 801, and the "Animals" 

 therein named are " horses, cattle, 

 mules, asses, sheep and swine." That is 

 all the law there is treating directly or 

 indirectly on this subject, except the 

 quotation below. 



Now, one question that is likely to 

 arise is, "Is a bee an animal ?" If not, 

 they may be classed in the "All other 

 property, real and personal," which " is 

 subject to taxation in the manner 

 directed." But if bees are not animals, 

 what are they ? Webster defines the 

 word animal thus : "An organized living 

 being, endowed with sensation and the 

 power of voluntary motion ; and also 

 characterized by taking its food into an 

 internal cavity or stomach for digestion ; 

 by giving carbonic acid to the air, and 

 taking oxygen in the process of respira- 

 tion ; by increasing in motive power or 

 active, aggressive force with the progress 

 to maturity." 



Bees are animals. Some try to excuse 

 their consciences for wanting to tax 

 bees on the ground that they are prop- 

 erty, and ought to share their just 

 burden of taxation. But bees are not 

 the only animals exempt, yet we seldom 

 hear of a word of complaint regarding 

 the others. Geese, turkeys, hens, pig- 

 eons, guineas, peacocks, *dogs, cats, 

 tame rabbits and fish are all animals, 

 yet the assessor never inquires after the 

 amount of capital that we have invested 

 in them. They are exempt under the 

 section above quoted. 



I may open a poultry farm and invest 

 $5,000 in fine birds, yet the stock would 

 be exempt under the law. I may con- 

 struct a carp pond, and raise fish enough 

 to supply my family, but the carp are 

 exempt. I might start an ostrich farm, 

 and the birds would be exempt from 

 taxation under the present law, even 

 though they cost $1,000 apiece. The 

 proper tools of every farmer and me- 

 chanic to the amount of $300 are 

 exempt from taxation. 



If the Legislature had intended that 

 all the above-mentioned animals should 



be taxed, they would not have exempted 

 them. 



As an instance where visible property 

 wholly escapes taxation with the sanc- 

 tion of law, take poultry. The census 

 report for 1880, shows the number of 

 all kinds in the State on June 1 of that 

 year, to have been 8,539,714. At 20 

 cents each (not an extravagant estimate), 

 the value was more than a million and a 

 half dollars ($1,707,942). The value 

 of the eggs produced in 1879, at 12 

 cents per dozen, was $3,870,471. 



The number of colonies of bees in the 

 State is not given in the census report 

 for 1880, but the honey produced in 

 1879 was 1,310,138 pounds. At 12^ 

 cents per pound, the value was $163,- 

 767, about one twenty-third part of the 

 value of the product from poultry. We 

 do not hear anything about taxing poul- 

 try, and I think that it is about time 

 that they give the bee-keepers a rest. 



*Under a recent law, dogs are taxed, 

 but it is a sort of a per capita tax, and 

 not according to the value of the animal. 

 Its object is to raise a fund with which 

 to pay losses to the owners of sheep or 

 other domestic animals, caused by dogs. 



Protection of Single-WalleilHiTes. 



GEO. R. WELLER. 



In building a house, the most impor- 

 tant consideration is the foundation. If 

 that is as it should be, any kind of house 

 can be put upon it — brick, stone or wood, 

 high or low, wide or narrow, and it will 

 stay there, and give satisfaction. 



As with a house, so in the bee-busi- 

 ness ; the foundation being right, we 

 can winter in the cellar or outside, can 

 work for extracted or comb-honey, can 

 contract or expand, tier up, etc., as cir- 

 cumstances or individual whims may 

 dictate. 



Such a foundation, or bottom-board, is 

 made of two pieces of %-inch lumber, 4 

 inches wide, and 8 inches longer than 

 the hive to be used. For the back end, 

 nail these pieces to the ends of a piece 4 

 inches wide, and long enough to make 

 the frame 8 inches wider than the hive. 

 Nail the front ends to a piece as long as 

 the back one, but wider. This board 

 is nailed in slanting, its lower edge even 

 with the lower edge of the side pieces at 

 their front ends, the top edge even with 

 their top edges, 5 inches back of their 

 front ends. This slanting end is the 

 alighting-board. 



