Anton Janscha on the swarming of bees
Subtitle: a critical survey.
Publisher: Apis Club
Published: 1951
Place of publication: [Foxton, Royston, Herts.]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 28
Subjects: Janscha, Anton, -- 1734-1773
First sentence: INTRODUCTION
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to thank my old school friend Mr. L. R. M. Strachan, M.A., and Mr. N. Reeves, B.Sc, for their help in dealing with Janscha's works and Dr. Eva Crane for her invaluable work in seeing this book through the press.
 
ANTON JANSCHA and the ABHANDLUNG VOM SCHWARMEN DER BIENEN.
ALL BEEKEEPERS HAVE HEARD about Huber, the blind Swiss scientist who solved the mystery of the fertilization of the queen bee which had puzzled the world for thousands of years; they also know about his faithful assistant, Francis Burnens, the servant whom he used in place of eyes, and of Mile. Jurine, who, under his direction, discovered the aborted ovaries of the worker bees which had escaped the notice even of the great Swammerdam.
Many beekeepers also have read the first and second series of Huber's letters, published in 1792 and 1814 respectively; but the number is small who realize that a poor Carinthian peasant had published—rather more than twenty years before—a full and exact account of the fertilization of the queen bee, and mentioned other reputed discoveries of Huber's. The purpose of this little book is to acquaint its readers with the remarkable attainments of this peasant, Anton Janscha, and to arouse interest in his books.
An account of Janscha's life and work follows this introduction so it is only necessary to explain that Janscha wrote two books: Abhandlung vom Schwdrmen der Bienen (A Discourse on the Swarming of Bees) in 1771 and Hinterlassene vollstandige Lehre von der Bienenzucht (A Complete Guide to Beekeeping) in 1775. The former of these is summarized here.
The Abhandlung was very well received when it was first issued. The edition of 1771 was (according to Weippl) followed in 1774 by a second from the same Viennese publisher (Joseph Kurzbock) and by a third at Graz in 1775. No others appeared until after the year 1900, for the simple reason that Janscha's larger book, which was published in 1775, superseded it and made further editions unnecessary.
Those who read this pamphlet should begin by laying aside their prejudices in favour of the modern movable comb hive. It is not pretended that the Bauernkasten is a better hive than one with movable combs: it certainly is not, but in many respects it is the Langstroth hive's only rival; probably, when piled in beehouses, it is better suited for wintering bees in a cold climate, and it is undoubtedly easier to transport. Janscha's hives, too, had a capacity of about 45 litres; later on, when the peasants desired many swarms to sell in Germany the hive's capacity was reduced
Description: I have a copy.
cebelanet@gmail.com
Joze Simec
Slovenija
Notes: 6
 
ANTON JANSCHA
 

 
to 25 litres and the Carniolan bees developed that tendency to swarm which mars their reputation nowadays. Anton Janscha's methods of keeping bees were not perfect, but Petrus de Crescentiis was right when he wrote in 1300 that reliable informants had told him that the recumbent hives of Southern Italy (Bauernkasten) were better than the upright hives of the Po valley.
JUNE 1951
H. MALCOLM FRASER,
Northwood Middlesex
 
THE LIFE OF ANTON JANSCHA
FOR MANY YEARS Anton Janscha was the subject of a legend which delighted those beekeepers who heard of it. It ran thus: Once upon a time there lived in Carniola a peasant lad, one of a family which was so poor that the boy knew no German and could neither read nor write. This lad's ancestors had been beekeepers for generations and were renowned for their skill in painting the fronts (Stirnbretter) of the hives they made and used. The lad inherited this aptitude for painting and was, in addition, a highly skilled beekeeper who had invented the swarm catcher.
When the Empress Maria Theresa decided to encourage the study of beekeeping in her dominions, she was told about this lad; she summoned him to Vienna, and for three years he lectured in German to the Empress and her Court. During these three years he wrote two books, a small one about swarming, and a complete treatise upon beekeeping which he left finished but unpublished when, on 13 September, 1773, he died suddenly from typhus fever. In his books can be found many of the facts which Huber rediscovered twenty years later. His two brothers, who survived him for many years, became professors in the University of Vienna.
Of course anyone who declared his or her belief in this legend was likely to be considered as a candidate for a lunatic asylum, but disbelief was also difficult since:
1.	Copies of the books, though rare, could be found;
2.	The official copy of the patent by which he was appointed Imperial and Royal Beekeeper existed in the archives at Vienna;
3.	Entries in the records of the Academy of Vienna tell about the lives and deaths of Anton's two brothers.
The solution of these discrepancies was supplied by Joza Okorn, in an article which appeared in the Schweizerische Bienenzeitung (63:527 (1940)). From this article we learn that the father of Anton Janscha was a small farmer, a member of a family which had long been producing good beekeepers, noted for their skill in painting the hive fronts (Stirnbretter) in use locally. He built a house, barn and beehouse on land he rented in Breznica; there he died in 1752, eighteen years after the birth of Anton, his eldest son, on 20 May, 1734.
After the death of his father Anton appears to have worked to keep the home together; we hear of his keeping bees, painting hive fronts beauti-fully (an example of these which shows the hives and helps the under-
Table of contents: title: first