Cranberry Culture. 317 



conditions essential to success in cranberry culture. 



SOIL. 



All economic plants show a preference for certain soil and climatic condi- 

 tions, and none is more exacting in this regard than the cranberry. While 

 it can be easily and successfully grown on congenial soils, it can not be made to 

 return paying crops under adverse conditions. 



The conditions necessary for success iu cranberry culture are soils of a 

 peaty or alluvial nature, located at high altitudes or in high latitudes, and pro- 

 vided with an ample and easily available water supply and an easily accessible 

 supply of sand. Repeated failures have resulted from attempts to establish cran- 

 berry plantations on soils not congenial to the plant. The best index to the fit- 

 nes of the soil for this crop is the occurrence of native cranberry plants. 

 Where the cranberry is indigenous to the soil it is safe to undertake the com- 

 mercial cultivation of the crop. The commercial cranberry bog or meadow 

 should combine as many as possible of the elements which characterize the 

 natural habitat of the cranberry, with all possible appliances for controlling ad- 

 verse conditions. While the cranberry is not a water plant, it thrives best 

 on soils in which the water level is within a few inches of the surface of the 

 soil. It is desirable that the arrangements be such as to render it possible to 

 maintain a constant water level throughout the growing season, and at the 

 same time to hold this at the depth of eight or ten inches below the surface, 

 particularly during the first three years of the existence of the plantation. The 

 supply of water should also be sufficient and the plantation so provided with 

 dikes as to allow of flooding the area with water to the depth of eighteen inches 

 to two feet from November to May in localities where it is necessary to protect 

 the plants from insects and from late spring frosts. 



CLIMATE. 



At present theimportant commercial cranberry areas of the United States 

 are situated in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, with minor fields in 

 Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minesota, Nebraska. 

 New Hampshire. New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, 

 and West Virginia. 



PREPARATION FOR PLANTING. 



TURFING. 



The first step in preparing a cranberry bog or meadow is to eradicate all 

 bushes and tree growth. Following this, all surface vegetation should be re- 

 moved. This operation, called "turfing," consists in removing the top layer of 

 soil to the depth of from two to four inches according to the character of the 

 vegetation, the object being to cut deep enough to destroy the crowns and roots 

 of all plants which might prove troublesome as weeds in the cranberry planta- 

 tion. Because of the boggy nature of the land usually selected for the cranberry 

 marsh the work of turfing must be done by hand. Where the soil is firm and 

 animals can be used, strongly constructed sod cutters may prove useful. 



GIL\DING. 



After the turf has been removed the surface of the area to be planted must 

 be graded so as to make it practically level. The object of this is to maintain 

 the water level at a uniform depth below the surface of the soil and at the same 

 time to make it possible to flood the area with a minimum quantity of water. 

 In addition to leveling the surface, dams necessary to store a sufficient quantity 

 of water to flood the area will be needed. The plantation will require embank- 

 ments of sufficient height around its border to maintain the desired depth of 



