CEANBEREY CULTURE. 166 



wild grasses are kept out. The vines in sucli situations are very rank, the 

 uprights of twice the length they are in productive bogs ; and on comparing 

 the two it will be found that the unproductive vine^ are soft and flimsy, while 

 the productive are stift" and hard. A careful chemical analysis of the tv/o 

 would probably disclose this foct, that the productive vine contains more silex 

 in its constituent parts than the unproductive. That this is so is shown by 

 "he touch alone. The productive vines are harsh, and Avhen drawn between 

 he lingers the silex Avith which they are coated grates the skin. 



Though unproductive vines are somewhat harsh, there is a marked differ- 

 ence between the two. This shows that silicious or quartz-sand is a necessary 

 element in the production of. bearing vines.' In proof of the correctness of this 

 theory, I might cite the results of many experiments. I will refer to only one. 



Many years ago Mr. Henry Hall transferred vines from his bog near the 

 sea-shore, to which reference has been made, and set them on a deep peat bog 

 near his dwelling-house. These vines grew very rapidly, soon covered the 

 surface of the bog, but never bore fruit. There are some peat swamps sur- 

 rounded by sandy lands, into which, in process of time, tlie rains have wash.ed 

 and the winds have blown sufficient sand to make the vines set in them pro- 

 ductive ; but such bogs are rarely met with. 



DRAIXAGE AND WATER. 



The first point to which the attention of the cultivator must be directed in 

 selecting a situation for a cranberry bog is drainage. If it cannot be drained 

 at least eighteen inches below the general surface, the situation must be re- 

 jected. Flowage is not absolutely essential to success, yet to have water at 

 command so that the bogs may be flowed or the water raised in the ditches at 

 any time, within twelve inches of the surface, is very desirable. Bogs that are 

 kept flowed till the 25th of May or 1st of June insects rarely trouble ; and 

 when an abundance Of water is at command, the damage often caused by early 

 or late frosts may be prevented. 



Where the drainage is imperfect, it is impossible to keep out the rushes and 

 wild grasses, and the vines become choked, and are rendered unproductive. 

 Of this character is the bed near the county road, on the west side of White's 

 Brook, in Yarmouth. Some of the vines have been set more than twenty 

 years, and the soil is naturally good, but imperfect drainage has destroyed its 

 value. 



When a situation has been selected for a cranberry bog, the first thing to 

 be done is to level it. A levelling instrument is not necessary. All tliat is 

 required is a strip or plank ten or fifteen feet in length, the edges jointed and 

 made exactly parallel ; with this and a common carpenter's level the work 

 may be quici-Lly done. Stakes of a foot or more in length, cut off square at 

 the top, should be provided. Begin by driving one of the stakes so that the 

 top Avill correspond Avith the proposed surface of the bog Avhen completed. 

 Yv ith this as the standing point, run several lines of stakes through and across 

 the bog. If more convenient, the tops of the stakes may be elevated six or 

 more inches above the proposed le\'el. This operation is important because 

 stakes shoAv Avhere material is to be removed, and where filling is to be re- 

 quired ; and by making a little calculation the earth to be removed may be 

 made to exactly correspond Avith the amount required for filling. But this is 

 not the principal advantage ; it requires much less Avater to flow a bog thai 

 has a level surface than one that is uneven. 



If the bog is extensive, and cannot, Avithout too much expense, be redi^'d 

 to one common le\'el, there is no obj.ection to having different grades Avith low 

 dykes between them. It is said that in building railroads nothing is CA'er lo-t 

 by spending much time in engineering. This remark has force and trulli 'ii 

 it Avheu applied to cranberry bogs. The money and time spent in laying ou: 

 12 A 



