BEES AS A NUISANCE 
111 
WHAT TO DO WHEK THE BEES ATTACK 
neighbor's HORSES. 
But it sometimes happens that something 
must be done at once to avert an attack 
upon teams of horses working in fields ad¬ 
joining a bee-yard. We have one outyard 
located near a field where our neighbor’s 
horses have been attacked by the bees on 
several occasions. We supplied our neigh¬ 
bor with clover seed for this field; and 
when he came to cut the crop the horses 
would occasionally be stung while drawing 
the mower. In one case there came very 
near being a serious mixup, as the team 
nearly ran away with the mowing machine. 
Two years later corn was planted in this 
same field. When the horses were cultivat¬ 
ing up and down the rows they were at¬ 
tacked again by the bees, for they were 
going in great droves across this field to a 
patch of clover beyond. Notwithstanding 
we had a high board fence to raise the 
flight of the bees above the team when 
near our yard, there was more or less trou¬ 
ble. On one occasion the driver was stung 
pretty severely, and the horses became un¬ 
manageable. Fortunately, the driver got 
them under control without any serious 
consequences. 
Now, our neighbor is a kindly man; and 
when he telephoned what had happened we 
saw that something would have to be done. 
We told him to go to the harness-shop and 
secure some large horse-blankets that would 
cover the necks and backs of the horses, 
and we would pay the bill. We then di¬ 
rected him to secure some large squares 
of mosquito netting and fold this around 
the horses’ heads. In the meantime we sup¬ 
plied him with veils for himself and man. 
When the next day came for cultivating, 
the blankets were put on and we went down 
to watch developments. We found that the 
blankets helped very materially, as they 
protected the horses from the onslaught 
of bees around their backs and necks where 
they could not brush or switch them off. 
Our neighbor did not think it was neces¬ 
sary to put the mosquito netting over their 
heads, as he said his horses did not mind 
bees on the face, as they could be brushed 
off on the forelegs. With these large 
blankets the horses w T ent up and down the 
rows with very little trouble, 
We found upon investigation that the 
bees were not disposed to be cross, but in 
going to and from the fields in search of 
honey they were interrupted in their flight. 
The switching of the tails of the horses an¬ 
gered them, with the result as stated. 
In cases of this kind it is an advantage 
to have an experienced beeman, and also 
an experienced horseman, if the two can be 
combined in one person. We happened to 
have just such a man in our employ, and 
sent him along around with the mower and 
reaper with a lighted smoker. If he found 
the bees were flying around the horses’ 
heads, he used a little smoke and drove 
them away. It was not necessary for him 
to follow the machine clear around the 
field, but only along that side next to the 
flight of the bees. 
But suppose the neighbor is unreason¬ 
able and ugly, and he brings suit for dam¬ 
ages; or suppose that the bees are located 
in a city Or village. 
Do not move the bees if reasonable pre¬ 
caution has been used, but write at once to 
the author. 
Suppose attorneys have been retained. 
Any number of decisions have been handed 
down to prove that bees are not a nuisance 
per se; that, when they are properly kept, 
a,nd due precautions are used, they cannot 
be driven out of the corporation. There 
are several precedents from various courts, 
even from the Supreme Court of Arkansas, 
to show that bees have the right to be kept 
within a corporation like any live stock, so 
that any ordinance not in conformity with 
these decisions can be declared unconstitu¬ 
tional. Several ordinances declaring bees 
to be a nuisance have been repealed. See 
Laws Relating to Bees. 
Bees have been accused of spreading 
fire blight on fruit trees on the mistaken 
notion that in visiting the affected blos¬ 
soms they carry the blight to healthy blos¬ 
soms on other trees. There is now very 
definite proof that the bees are not guilty. 
See Eire Blight —Do Bees Carry It? 
BEES, DO THEY ATTACK FRUIT? 
—Occasionally complaints have been made 
that bees will attack fruit; and to a 
casual observer, at least, they apparently 
do bite thru the skin and extract the juices 
until the specimen is shriveled up to a mere 
