146 STATE BOAED OF AGEICULTUKE. 



coloring the fruit: and third, by covering the ground it acts as a mnlch, either 

 choking out or preventing foreign vegetation from coming in. In the selection 

 of a 



Location 



care and good judgment must be exercised, for with the best after-treatment on 

 a poor location, the labor and care bestowed will be unproductive, and disap- 

 pointment will be the resiilt. The first point, of course, will be to secure a bed 

 of muck, and the other essentials as accessible as possible. In the matter of 

 selecting a location, if considered wholly in a commercial point of view,— that 

 is, if it is undertaken with the one end of gain in view, — no one should be satis- 

 fied without having everything of the most satisfactory character. On the other 

 hand, if the location is already an "eye-sore" to the farm, and its reclamation 

 and planting is undertaken as much for looks and general appearance as pros- 

 pective gain, an entirely different view should be taken of the subject, as pleasure 

 is to be taken into the account as well as dollars and cents ; and when the two 

 can be combined, bringing all the elements necessary to success together, and 

 at the same time reclaim an otherwise wortliless swamp, and bring it into useful 

 and profitable production, makes a double-paying investment. 

 After selecting a proper location, comes the 



Preparation for Planting, 



which, after grublnng, and the removal of logs, brush, etc., should either be 

 l^lowed, or the sod removed with cart and spade from the ground, after which 

 it should be covered with sand from two to four inches deep. 



In my own case, instead of following this plan, I had tlie whole surface spaded 

 over, from eighteen inches to two feet in depth, taking the sand, of which there 

 Avas a supply from the bottom of the ditches. But this practice I would not 

 recommend, as it is tedious, expensive, and no more effective than the cheaper 

 and more simple processes. The greatest difliculty to overcome after turning 

 over so deep, was the rank growth of weeds and coarse grass thrown up by the 

 uncongenial soil brought to the surface from so great a depth, and requiring two 

 or three years to subdue sufficiently for the reception of the phints. 



Upon whatever plan adopted, let the preparation be of the most thorough 

 character, as no future Avork Avill make up for a lack at this stage of the 

 improvement ; and after all the preparation that would be considered necessary 

 by the ncAV beginner, we would advise the thorough cultivation of still another 

 year before planting, for the purpose of allowing the soil to become homogeneous, 

 and killing out all the foreign vegetation that is possible. This extra pains is 

 made necessary by the fact that after planting the vine grows so A'ery fast that 

 it is almost impossible to cultivate the ground without injuring tlie plants. 

 After the preparation of tlie ground, comes 



Plants and Planting. 



In the selection of plants the grower should go the season previous to the 

 natural bog Avhere the plants are in bearing, or to those Avho have them for sale, 

 and make his selection from bearing vines. While Ave have an almost unlimited 

 confidence in mankind in general and cranberry men in particular, Ave would 

 not, after going to the trouble and expense of preparing a plat suitable for 

 planting, want to depend on any man's word for the reliability of the bearing 

 quality of the plants to be used. 



When the vines are on the ground, ready for planting, commence by making 



