16 CAPE COD CRANBERRIES. 



CHAPTER V. 

 SANDING AND PLANTING. 



The sand should be of a gravelly nature, free from 

 clay or loam, and considerably coarser than that com- 

 monly used in making mortar for plastering. Sand of 

 this description can not always be obtained ; but, whether 

 finer or coarser, nothing which has an admixture of loam 

 or clay, should ever be used upon a bog, for the follow- 

 ing reasons : It will bake down hard, and the vines will 

 not grow so vigorously as they will in loose, porous sand. 

 Again, the water will not leach through very readily ; 

 and weeds and wild grasses will grow much quicker than 

 where the surface allows the water to pass through it 

 quickly. 



After the bog has been levelled, as described in the 

 last chapter, an even coat of sand, four inches in depth, 



Fig. 4. SPREADER. 



should be spread over its whole surface. It is a great 

 advantage to have the sand in close proximity to the bog, 

 as it saves the expense of carting. In spreading the 

 sand it is usual to lay down some two-inch plank, eight 

 inches wide, for a walk, and the sand is brought on in 

 wheel-barrows. The planks are laid from the sand pit or 

 outer edge of the bog to the centre ditch, and removed 

 as fast as the bog is sanded. 



The sand is spread by means of a " Spreader," made of 



