254 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



distinct species, all the blueberries, huckleberries, and cranberries be- 

 ing grouped in the one family (Ericacese) . Of this group, many of 

 which produce delicious dessert and culinary fruits, the cranberry is 

 the only one which has been improved and extensively cultivated. It 

 is also worthy of note as being one of the native fruits of America 

 which has become an important commercial product and has won for 

 itself a world-wide reputation. (F. B. 176.) 



Raising cranberries, like raising all other small fruit, is a very 

 intensified industry, that is one requiring a large expenditure of 

 capital and labor on a small area of ground. It is, therefore, of the 

 utmost importance that the location be carefully made in order that 

 the grower may have as nearly perfect control over these conditions 

 as possible. The conditions essential for successful cranberry grow- 

 ing are, first, a proper soil; second, a sufficient supply of suitable 

 water; third, adequate drainage; fourth, suitable topography for han- 

 dling water; and fifth, accessibility to railroad and other means of 

 communication. (Wis. E. S. B. 119.) 



At present the important commercial cranberry areas of the 

 United States are situated in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Wis- 

 consin, with minor fields in Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, 

 Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, 

 New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and 

 West Virginia. Many of the possible areas for cranberry culture 

 have not yet been taken up. A point brought out in the distribution 

 of the plant is its limitation by climatic conditions. While it occurs 

 as far south as Tennessee and North Carolina along the Allegheny 

 Mountains, the high altitude has provided conditions under which 

 a congenial environment for the plant has been maintained with a 

 consequent preservation of the species in these now isolated areas. 

 (F. B. 176.) 



STRAWBERRIES. 



The graden strawberries of this country have come chiefly from 

 the so-called Pine type of berries, which has been proved beyond 

 question to have sprung from Fragaria chiloensis, a plant originally 

 brought to Europe from Chile, but which is now known to be native 

 to the western mountain regions of both North and South America. 

 The first native strawberries to be brought under cultivation, how- 

 ever, were those of eastern North America, which belong to the scar- 

 let class, the species being known to botanists as Fragaria virginiana. 

 This class, as has been stated, has contributed only sparingly to our 

 present variety list. The wild berry of Europe, which has always 

 been held in more or less esteem because of its ever-bearing tenden- 

 cies, has likewise contributed only meagerly to the garden sorts of its 

 native countries and none whatever to the American list. The bur- 

 den of the industry rests upon the Chilean plant. 



The garden strawberry is an American product. It adapts itself 

 to a wider range of latitude and to greater extremes in environment 

 than any other cultivated fruit. It is universally liked and is cos- 

 mopolitan in its adaptations. (F. B. 198.) 



The Soil and Its Preparation. Whether or not it is for a mar- 



