52 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



country. If the meadow is covered with bushes and has- 

 socks, the former arc cut and the roots taken up with the grub- 

 ber, and the latter are cut off level with the surface, when the 

 vines being taken up from another part Of the meadow or else- 

 where, are set by first striking a hoe into the soil and raising 

 it slightly, when the roots are inserted and pressed down with 

 the foot. In this way, a large space may be quickly set with 

 vines, which, under' favorable circumstances, may cover the 

 ground in three or four years. This method, it is evident, re- 

 quires but little skill. 



I have never seen more than one or two plantations with the 

 roots set in the mud alone. In these cases, the soil had settled 

 around them, leaving the plants standing on the ends of the 

 roots, nearly out of the ground. So far as can be judged from 

 appearances, they were by no means likely to grow; while 

 close at hand was a piece covered with sand, on which the 

 vines were very thrifty, with not a sign of failure. The mix- 

 ture of sand had given the surface more consistency, and the 

 plants had become well rooted and strong. 



The experiments which have already been made, clearly 

 show the practicability of raising cranberries on upland. I 

 have seen flourishing plantations of them on all varieties of 

 soils, from a high and light gravelly loam, to a very deep, rich, 

 garden soil. Indeed, the universal opinion seems to be, that 

 such cranberries are better than those growing naturally in 

 wet meadows. In the instances which I have myself seen, the 

 land had been carefully plouglied and prepared, as it usually is 

 for strawberries, or plants of that description. The plants 

 were taken from their original situation in the manner de- 

 scribed, in the sod, and freed from grasses and roots ; they 

 were then put into shallow trenches or drills dug for the pur- 

 pose, about two and a half or three feet apart. In conse- 

 quence of the large space left between the drills, constant and 

 careful attention was necessary for two or three years, so that 

 far more labor was spent on them than the same area of straw- 

 berries would have required. 



In one case, the plantation was situated on a high and dry 

 hill, in a light loamy soil, and no water was supplied except 

 what they had from occasional rains. The vines nearly all 



