260 



August, 1913. 



American Hee Journal 



astonished to lind that tlie penalty for 

 shipping bees into the county without 

 notifying the inspector is a line of not 

 less than ?300. However, he pleaded 

 guiltv, and was fined the full sum. 



Autobiography of A. De Rauschenfels. 



— The following is an autobiography 

 of A. DeRauschenfels, retired editor of 

 L'Apicoltore : 



You desire the story of my life. I 

 have no marvelous record in the api- 

 arian field. I have not discovered any 

 fundamental law; have not invented 

 any new hive or implement; neither 

 have I kept as many colonies as your 

 great American producers have done, 

 but I take pleasure in responding to 

 your courteous request. 



I was born Feb. 28, 1828, at Lienz, in 

 the Austrian Tyrol, and received my 

 education in the University of Inns- 

 bruck. In 1847, the words: "Mon- 

 archy is in peril, all Italy to arms," 

 caused my departure for the army with 

 my fellow students, and I was enlisted 

 in the regiment of Imperial Tyrolese 

 Cacciatores. I fought in the streets of 

 Milan in 1848, and the following year 



A. DeRauchenkei-s. 

 Photograph by .Arnaldo (."olti.^ 



in the battle of Novara. In 1852, I was 

 promoted to the rank of officer, and in 

 the barracks saw the dark side of the 

 life of a soldier. I concluded that this 

 was not the right pursuit. I resigned 

 and established myself in the "garden 

 of Europe," as is called this country of 

 rich plains and admirable vegetation, 

 which produces everything, from the 

 knotty oak to the palms of the Orient. 

 Living in the country. 1 was attracted 

 by apiculture. In 18(i9, after having 

 read the works of Dzierzon and Ber- 

 lepsch, I commenced bee-keeping with 

 6 colonies, which I transferred from 

 the common village hive into movable- 

 frame hives of the German pattern. In 

 a few years, with the addition of nat- 

 ural swarms, artificial divisions, and 

 the purchase of more common hives, I 



raised my apiary to Kli) colonies, and 

 later to about 20ii, a very large number, 

 at that time, in Italy, for a follower of 

 rational bee-culture, which was yet in 

 its infancy. 



I soon began contributing to L'Api- 

 coltore, the organ of the Italian Asso- 

 ciation. I also wrote for a German 

 journal, discussing questions of opin- 

 ion, such as the best hives. For a long 

 time I was in favor of the vertical hive 

 (high and narrow), which was almost 

 the only hive used in Italy. When your 

 regretted father, Charles Dadant, 

 brought to our notice the modified 

 form of the Langstroth with Quinby 

 frames, we hesitated to adopt it. It 

 was difficult to change large apiaries. 

 In May, 1874, Charles Dadant was writ- 

 ing us; "Will the hive of my choice 

 ever become popular in Italy ? I can- 

 not say, but I do know that those who 

 try it will not regret it." He was right, 

 the hive now known in Italy as the 

 " Dadant hive " has proven its supe- 

 riority over all others. 



In January, 1888, I assumed the edi- 

 torship of L'Apicoltore. Simplicity 

 and economy have been my motto. I 

 believe that two thirds of the imple- 

 ments that are called indispensable are 



unnecssaryin the management of bees. 

 In 1901,1 published "The Bee and 

 Its Culture," with an "Atlas' of bee- 

 keeping, and both before and after I 

 also published a Compedium of Bee- 

 Keeping. On Dec. 31, 1912, after 2-5 

 years, I retired from the editorial chair. 

 An[)Re.\ Ral'scher Von Stainberg lnd 

 Rauschnfels. Noceto, Italy, May 31. 



Old-Time Advice to Bee-Keepers 



The following is an extract sent us by 

 one of our readers, and copied from 

 an old agricultural publication dated 

 1827. In those days, evidently, they 

 had no conception of out-apiaries, nor 

 even home-apiaries, nor of honey by 

 the carload. They did not follow the 

 motto, " Keep more better bees:" 



TO MAN.\GE BEES ON MR. COBBETt's PLAN. 



The best hives are those made of 

 clean, unbleached rye-straw. A swarm 

 should always be put into a new hive, 

 and the sticks should be new that are 

 put into the hive for the bees to work 

 on; for, if the hive be old, it is not so 

 wholesome, and a thousand to one 



No. I.— Clipping Queens. 



