CHAPTER V. 



THE CRANBERRY. 



"RANBERRY (Vaccinium macrocaepon) . This is the low trail- 

 ing cranberry of the swamps of many of the northern states. 

 The form and habit is well illustrated in figure 42. The so called 

 high bush cranberry is a shrub and is nmch more widely distrib- 

 uted than this. The 

 latter has one flat seed 

 in each fruit, while the 

 former is a many seed- 

 ed berry. This plant 

 is not adapted to gen- 

 eral cultivation, and 

 seldom if ever does well 

 on the prairies of the 

 West. It may be laid 

 down as a general rule 

 that it cannot be suc- 

 cessfully cultivated ex- 

 cept on the granitic 

 soils of the northern 

 states, and that it will 

 be a failure on the lime- 

 stone drift soils, such 

 as are common to the 

 prairies of Minnesota, 

 Iowa and the Dakotas. 

 In Wisconsin and east- 

 ern and northern Min- 

 nesota it is often very 

 productive, either wild 

 or cultivated, and is an 

 article of much impor- 

 tance in the markets of 

 those sections each 

 year. Where this fruit 

 58 



FIG. 42. Cranberry plant, and fruit. 

 One-half natural size. 



