SECRETARY'S REPORT. 5T 



depend upon having, from the seedling, the same variety as that 

 from which the seeds were taken. 



The varieties of tlie cranberry have not been distinctly 

 named, as most varieties of the apple have, and must be de- 

 scribed, and can only be distinguished, by difference in shape 

 and color. It is very important that the most approved varie- 

 ties should be selected for cultivation, as they command a much 

 higher price in the market. The large, round and black cran- 

 berry of Cape Cod and Cape Ann, sells for nearly a third more 

 than the oblong and softer variety, more common in other parts 

 of the State. It might properly be called the Black cranber- 

 ry, so nearly does its beautifully shaded, deep red, approach to 

 black. It is very hard, nearly as hard as a Baldwin apple, and 

 will bear transportation to any distance. It keeps well through 

 the winter, and even, in some cases, into the succeeding sum- 

 mer. Indeed, with a little care, good cranberries may be kept 

 a much longer time, either dry in bottles, corked so as to ex- 

 clude the air, or in bottles filled with pure spring water. 



It is probable that the superior qualities of this variety 

 arise, in a great measure, from peculiarities of soil and situa- 

 tion, and from the fact that it can remain on the vines till it is 

 fully ripe, without danger from frost. The proximity of the 

 sea, also, may have much to do with this superiority. From 

 extended inquiries into the quality of the same variety, in dif- 

 ferent localities, I have been led to the conclusion that the sea 

 air is, for reasons alluded to above, highly conducive to its 

 perfect development. 



There is an oblong cranberry, more common in the low, wet 

 bogs of the country, softer than that which has been described, 

 of a loose and rather watery texture, and shrinking much more 

 in cooking. It is sometimes shaped like an oblong pear. Its 

 color is a beautiful vermilion. It seems to be much more sen- 

 sitive, and liable to injury by the frost, than the variety just 

 described. These varieties are not constant, nor are they very 

 perfectly marked, each occasionally having the characteristics 

 of the other. Thus the black cranberry sometimes, though 

 rarely, assumes an oblong or pear shape, and the oblong is 

 sometimes found harder and better than it generally is, and of 

 a deeper red. The fruit, indeed, assumes every conceivable 

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