1901 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



107 



The name "Ehrenfels" is seldom seen 

 mentionerl in connection with bee- 

 keeping in our American books or bee- 

 journals; and yet, Baron von Ehren- 

 t'els was the greatest bee-keeper of 

 his time, having lived during the closing 

 part of the eighteenth and the be- 

 ginning of the nineteenth centuries. His 

 death occurred in 1843. He was an 

 Austrian. The one aim this great man 

 had was to make bee-keeping the prop- 

 erty of his people. He sought to 

 increase the wealth of his people by in- 

 Uucing them to engage in bee-keeping. 

 He was always trying to instruct them 

 and to disseminate bee-knowledge gen- 

 erally. He gave much money and time to 

 this work; established apiaries for public 

 instruction. His apiaries threw off 

 handsome revenues, so much so that the 

 writer in the Levpziger Bienen Zeltuinj 

 says: "No man living is as successful 

 • with bees as Ehrenfels has been." If a 

 locality did not furnish a sufficiency of 

 honey-producing plants, he spared no 

 pains to change the conditions for the 

 better. On one of his possessions in 

 Ragelsdorf, it is said, bees could not 

 make a living. He went to work zeal- 

 ously, had thousands of willow trees 

 planted around his meadows, also locust- 

 trees, poplar, horse-chestnuts, bass wood 

 ti-ees etc. In his many gardens goose- 

 berry bushes and similar shrubbery was 

 planted extensively; white clover took 

 the place of other grasses, and other 

 changes were made. The result was. 

 while in 1802 bees would starve, some 

 yearslater two hundred colonies of bees 

 were kept at a profit, showing what 

 may be accomplished in the way of im- 

 proving bee-pasturage. As a lasting 

 monument, Ehrenfels laid down his 

 teachings in book-form under the title; 

 "Bee-keeping, based upon Theory and 

 Practice." The bC)ok speaks well for the 

 author and is in the main correct. Un- 

 fortunately, it cannot any more be pro- 

 cured, sharing this fate with the original 

 Langstroth. The name of Ehrenfels 

 must for all time b<' placed alongside of 



Dzierzon, Langstroth, Berlepsch, Vogel 

 and a few others. 



Some years ago the Caucasian bee was 

 talked of in our journals. Nothing, 

 however, has been said of late. The di- 

 rector of the silk station in Tifilis, 

 Russia, says in regard to this bee, that it 

 is not of a distinct race, but is identical 

 with the Italian bee. The yellow variety 

 is to be found in the south part of the Cau- 

 casus, from there clear into Persia ; the 

 gray variety in the north part. Nearly 

 always some gray bees are found in the 

 yellow colonies. The Caucasian bee 

 has the name of being the most gentle 

 bee in existence and little inclined to 

 swarm. 



The idea that bees consume more 

 honey during cold winter weather than 

 milder weather is very strongly opposed 

 in several German bee-periodicals. 



The ease of poisoning bees in Bavaria, 

 as reported in April number, Americ.vn 

 Bee-kekpek, page (53, has been carried 

 to the highest court. Sentence has been 

 reversed again, and it seems justice is to 

 prevail after all. 



Naples. N.Y., April 30, 1901. 



"East Fnesland, a province of Holland, 

 containing 1,200 square miles, maintains 

 an average of 2,000 colonies per square mile 



Honey and Beeswax Market. 



WASHINGTON GRADIXCt RULES. 



Fancy.— All sections to be well filled, combs 

 straight, of even thickness and firmly attached to 

 all four sides; both wood and comb unsoiled by 

 travel-stain or otherwise; all the cells sealed ex- 

 cept the row of cells next the wood. 



No. 1.— All sections well filled, but combs uneven 

 or crooked, detached at the bottom, or with but few 

 cells unsealed; both wood and comb unsoiled by 

 travel-stain or otherwise. 



In addition to this the honey is to be classified 

 according to color, using the terms white, amber 

 and dark. That is, there will be "Fancy white," 

 "No. 1, dark," etc. 



Below we give the latest and most authentic re- 

 port of the Honey and Beeswax market in different 

 trade centers: 



Kansas City, Mo., May 20.— The entire stock 

 of honey at this market is cleaned up. Beeswax 

 is in good demand with light supply, at .'iOc. 



HaMBLIN & SaI'PIXGTON. 



