158 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



grew the error, now exploded, that the cultivation of cran- 

 berries was practicable on any upland, whatever the nature of 

 the soil. 



Cranberry meadows are prepared by removing the turf to 

 such a depth that neither grass nor bushes will start from the 

 roots, and setting the vines either in the pure peat, or in a sur- 

 face covering of sand or gravel. The former method is pre- 

 ferred by some, for the reason that the grasses, which will take 

 root in the peat, after cultivation becomes impracticable, are 

 much less formidable enemies to the vines, than the rushes and 

 other wiry plants that invariably gain a foothold in sanded or 

 gravelled meadows. Sand and gravel check, rather than pro- 

 mote, the growth of the vines. They are useful only as they 

 facilitate the process of clean cultivation while the vines are 

 acquiring complete possession. Some cultivators, who have 

 applied sand, have subsequently removed it and reset their 

 vines. Others, who have covered deeply with gravel to secure 

 a uniform grade, have found it necessary to place a shovelful 

 of peat or moss beneath each hill when transplanting. This is 

 the case with the meadow of Mr. Stetson, on which the gravel 

 is evidently too deep to allow of a vigorous growth of vines 

 without some application of this kind. If sand or gravel is 

 used, it should not exceed two or three inches in depth, that 

 the roots, not only of the original vines, but of the runners, 

 may readily reach the peat, from which, alone, they can derive 

 their proper sustenance. 



For transplanting, vines should be selected whose fruit is of 

 good size and of dark color when ripe. The egg-shaped berries 

 are usually the largest and consequently the most saleable, 

 though not as heavy as some of the smaller varieties. The 

 vines should be separated from all grass and other roots, and 

 bound in bunches of half a dozen or more, by twisting about 

 them one of the longer runners, and in this condition they can 

 be set very rapidly, in hills, from fifteen to eighteen inches 

 apart ; or they may be scattered singly in drills, or, where clean 

 culture is not proposed, they may be sown broadcast and 

 covered slightly with the hoe. Vines may be set at any season, 

 but the spring is to be preferred, as vines set early become more 

 firmly rooted and better able to withstand the winter than those 

 set later. 



