GO BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



which twenty or thirty bushels a day can be taken from the 

 vines. But on newly planted beds, or loose sand, there may 

 be danger that this method will injure the roots, and it will not 

 be found expedient, in such cases, to use the rake till the 

 plants are very firmly rooted, and have covered the ground. 

 But raking, in the majority of cases, so far from injuring the 

 vines, is probably a benefit to them, when no other cultivation is 

 practicable. In Germany, the small cranberry is gathered by 

 means of wooden combs. In England and Scotland, where they 

 are not found in so great abundance, they are generally picked 

 by hand. 



If I have dwelt longer on this subject than its compar- 

 ative importance would seem to justify, it need only be stated 

 that the cultivation of cranberries is fast becoming an im- 

 portant branch of our agriculture, more than one hundred 

 thousand bushels of this valuable fruit having been gathered 

 during the past season, from land which, for all other purposes, 

 would have been comparatively worthless, while the demand for 

 it here and in England is sufiiciently large to absorb all that can 

 be thrown into the market ; — that the information on this sub- 

 ject was much scattered and inaccessible to many, and that 

 great facilities were at my command for extensive and accurate 

 observation of experiments, many of which had been tried so 

 long that I could state conclusions resting on them, with some 

 degree of confidence. 



But, as I have before intimated, some questions relating to 

 the culture of this plant, are still to be settled by experiment, 

 and it is possible that time and future observation may require 

 some modification of the opinions which have been advanced 

 above. 



Broomcorn. 



There are still other products which are cultivated only in 

 particular localities. These, however, should not be over- 

 looked in an account of the agriculture of the State. 



Among these, broomcorn is largely cultivated in the Valley of 

 the Connecticut. This crop is increasing rapidly, as it is found 

 to do well, and to be very profitable. The returns of 1 840 show 

 that only 580 tons were raised in the State, while in 1850, the 



