CRANBERRIES. 123 



and hoeing when necessary, will find that their vines will suc- 

 ceed much better by being so treated. Where the land is hoed 

 upon which the cranberry is planted, it is chiefly the upland ; 

 and this is done with the view of making it porous, so that the 

 soil will readily take in the moisture of the atmosphere. It is 

 the opinion of some cultivators that, if the yard in which the 

 vine is planted is hoed for the first two or three years after it is 

 set out, it will be more thrifty, and consequently of more 

 profit to the proprietor. 



VII. The blossoming time of the cranberry is of some im- 

 portance, and it being so delicate and sensitive, it calls for pre- 

 cautions to be taken, in order to preserve the flower from inju- 

 ry. These precautions are required more in some regions of 

 country than in others. Such districts as are liable to be vis- 

 ited by frost at this season call for especial care. And it is 

 here that the advantage of flooding appears. Those who can do 

 this can keep back the blossom until such times as they believe 

 that the frost has disappeared. This is the only thing that can 

 be done to preserve them from destruction. 



VIII. Like every other plant, or fruit vine, the cranberry is 

 subject to certain drawbacks, arising from two or three causes. 



1. The Vine Worm. We have not seen this enemy of the 

 cranberry, and have only met with one gentleman who has. He . 

 describes it to be about the eighth of an inch in length. It has 

 been sought after with extreme care and diligence, but its pres- 

 ence seems only to be known by the devastation it commits. 

 And so great and fearful are its ravages, that vines which have 

 been attacked by it will, in a night, seem sickly, and the crop 

 will be cut off. Not having seen this insect, which is such an 

 enemy to the cranberry vine, and not being able to obtain an 

 accurate description of its form and size, even from those who 

 have suffered most from its ravages, we are therefore unable to 

 identify it with insects which are the known enemies of other 

 fruits. 



This insect attacks the vine in a very peculiar manner. It 

 does not attack the growth of the year previous to its coming, 

 but it begins its operations from the base of the new growth of 

 that year in which it makes its attack. It works upward. It 



