Gillet v. Mason
New York Supreme Court
IN error, on certiorari, from a justice’s court. e Mason declared against Gillet, before the justice, in an . _ r . , . . action or trespass, for cutting down a tree containing a c , , . .it i i swarm of bees, and carrying away the bees and honey, which the plaintiff below had before found, and bad marked the tree with the initials of his name. . . Gillet pleaded the general issue : and there was a trial by jury. , , , , . Mason proved, that previous to bringing this suit,…
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IN error, on certiorari, from a justice’s court. e Mason declared against Gillet, before the justice, in an . _ r . , . . action or trespass, for cutting down a tree containing a c , , . .it i i swarm of bees, and carrying away the bees and honey, which the plaintiff below had before found, and bad marked the tree with the initials of his name. . . Gillet pleaded the general issue : and there was a trial by jury. , , , , . Mason proved, that previous to bringing this suit, he had found a tree, containing a swarm of bees, standing on the land of Timothy Gillet, lately deceased, father of tbe…
1Per curiam
Bees are considered by Judge Blackstone, (2 Com. 392.) as feres natures; but when hived and reclaimed, a qualified property may be acquired in them. . Occupation of them, according to Bracton, that is hiving or enclosing them, gives the property in bees. In the present case, it appears the bees were not hived before they were discovered by the defendant in error, and the only act he did was to mark the tree. The land ■was not his, nor was it in his possession. Marking the tree did not reclaim the bees, nor vest an exclusive right of property in the finder, especially in this case, against the…
2Cited by7 opinions
- Sterling v. JacksonMichigan Supreme Court · 1888
- Payne v. SheetsSupreme Court of Vermont · 1903
- Hickey v. HazardMissouri Court of Appeals · 1877
- State v. ReppSupreme Court of Iowa · 1898
- Ferguson v. MillerNew York Supreme Court · 1823
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