1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



135 



BLANTON'S REPORT. 



A Yield of iS.ooo lbs. from 214 Colonies ; the Dam- 

 age Done by the Breaking of the Levee. 



BY O. M. BLANTON. 



A review of the past season shows one re- 

 markable for its drawbacks, also the wonder- 

 ful recuperative powers of the soil from them. 

 The spring was cold and backward, with an 

 excessive rainfall. The Mississippi River reach- 

 ed a flood-line far beyond any previous year, 

 causing quite a number of crevssses in the 

 levees, flooding the greater portion of the 



and was caused by a cut-off about forty years 

 ago. The crevasse occurred at night, from a 

 violent storm, the width of thirty feet increas- 

 ing within a few days to sixteen hundred, 

 drowning 40 head of Holstein cattle and 60 

 head of Southdown sheep, the horses and 

 mules having been removed. 



A good crop year always accompanies a 

 good honey season. My apiary was placed 

 on a scaffold, and it was the first of June be- 

 fore I could commence extracting, which 

 placed me two months behind. The usual 

 time to be,gin is the first of April. 



The season closed with a yield of 18,000 lbs. 



THE BREAKING OF THE LEVEE. 



Yazoo Delta, about 3,000,000 acres, resulting 

 in great damage. A few persons were drown- 

 ed, and about five per cent of the live stock. 

 The remainder were saved by being removed 

 to high ground, or placed on scaffolds. The 

 crops were destroyed, but replanted as fast as 

 the water receded. With a favorable season 

 it grew rapidly, and fruited beyond expecta- 

 tion. Where the water was in April five to 

 twenty feet deep on the plantations, now they 

 are covered with immense crops of cotton, 

 yielding from j{ to 1^ bales of the fleecy 

 staple per acre. 



I send you a photo of Lake Lee crevasse, 

 looking northwest to the lake. The lake was 

 originally a portion of the Mississippi River, 



of extracted honey and 300 lbs. of wax, from 

 214 colonies, spring count — a good yield, con- 

 sidering the loss of two months. 



Eighteen ninety-six was remarkable for the 

 long dry season. From the 15th of April un- 

 til the 5th of September there was not enough 

 rain to lay the dust. The forest-trees and 

 vines growing about the lagoons steadily yield- 

 ed nectar. In Jvily there was an abundant 

 honey-dew which produced a light amber hon- 

 ey of excellent flavor. The occasional show- 

 ers in September caused an immense honey- 

 flow, which continued until the 20th of Octo- 

 ber. 



HIVE,S AND FRAMES. 



So much has been written in regard to hives 



