AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



107 



Ko. 66 — Elwarl Kretctimer. 



The subject of our sketch this week is 

 another of the leading bee-keepers 

 whom we had the pleasure of meeting 



E. KRETCHMER. 



often during the World's Fair last sum- 

 mer, and whom it was always a delight 

 to see on our weekly visits to the api- 

 arian department in the '' White City." 

 The Progressive Bee-Keeper — the paper 

 from which we take the subjoined sketch 

 — says this of our Iowa friend : 



Mr. Kretchmer is one of the pioneers 

 of Western apiculture, a man of whom 

 the bee-keeping fraternity may be 

 proud, and one who has received many 

 honors, both from those of his calling, 

 and the public at large. 



As mentioned on another page, it was 

 Bro. Kretchmer who superintended the 

 Iowa honey exhibit at the World's Fair, 

 and his successful efforts are well at- 

 tested by a glance at the illustration on 

 page 104, and also by the awards 

 secured. Incidentally, we may say that 

 he is one of the largest manufacturers 

 and dealers in bee-keepers' supplies west 

 of the " Mississippi creek." 



As we doubtless could add nothing 

 further of interest regarding Bro. 

 Kretchmer, we are glad to give the 

 sketch referred to before, written by his 

 12-year-old daughter, Valencia, who is 

 not only a member of the Iowa State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association, but also of 

 the North American. Here is what she 

 writes about "her papa" — and she ought 

 to know him pretty well : 



Edward Kretchmer was born on the 

 Atlantic ocean in 1844, on the Ameri- 

 can merchant vessel, "Louisiana;" and 

 though of German parentage, he is an 

 American by birth. He was brought up 

 in Selicia, Prussia. His father was one 

 of the prominent bee-keepers of his 

 time, and the originator of the first rolls 

 that manufactured "mid-rib," or our 

 earlier form of comb foundation ; which, 

 by writers, is frequently confounded 

 with that of Mehring's, whose invention 

 presented the edge of a full thickness of 

 comb, or the beginning of a top-bar. 

 Hence the German translation, "foun- 

 dation." 



Mr. Kretchmer resided about five 

 miles from Dr. Dzierzon, the world-re- 

 nowned author and apiarist, and from 

 whom, during a season's stay, he re- 

 ceived the first lessons in advanced bee- 

 culture. In 1858 he received a colony 

 of Italian bees as a birthday present, 

 and since that time, with the exception 

 of three years, he has been a breeder of 

 Italian bees. 



He came to the United States, and to 

 the State of Iowa, about the year 1859, 

 and in the summer of 1860 purchased 

 the first Italian queen that crossed the 

 Mississippi river. In 1861 he entered 

 the army. During his absence, his 

 father sold the original colony to W. H. 



