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fine crop of berries, ripe and fit to be gathered. This was a 

 very favorable time to view his crop and to learn the result of 

 his experiments. His method of preparing the ground for the 

 planting of vines has been varied on different parts of his 

 meadow, and the results have been different. Upon that part 

 to which we were first introduced he had spread a thick coat of 

 gravel or coarse sand, after having ploughed the ground. On 

 those parts of his meadow treated in this manner we found the 

 berries much smaller in size and the vines far less productive 

 than when the ground had only been ploughed and smoothed, 

 without any top dressing having been put upon it. From Mr. 

 Stiles's experiments, as well as from our own experience in 

 this business, we think that we may infer that the natural soil 

 of our meadows is best adapted to the growth of the cranberry. 

 No top dressing has ever been put upon that particular spot of 

 meadow on which Mr. Stiles claims a premium. The ground 

 was only ploughed and smoothed, and the vines were set in the 

 natural soil. No expense has since been incurred upon it. 



On viewing this spot we found the vines grown so rank as 

 almost to prevent the grass from springing up among them. 

 The crop upon these vines was abundant, the berries were of 

 an extraordinary size, ripe and beautiful and of an excellent 

 quality. It was truly a fine sight to look upon. This was 

 j)erhaps the largest crop that has ever grown upon these twenty 

 square rods of ground, measuring twenty-three bushels, equal 

 to one hundred and eighty-four bushels to the square acre. 



Mr. Stiles has not always been able to keep his meadow 

 flowed in the winter season, and no doubt his crop may some- 

 times have failed on this account. Unless our meadows be 

 kept flowed during the freezing months and drained during the 

 summer, we can have no certainty of a crop of cranberries ; 

 but if this be done, perhaps no crop of fruit is so sure as that 

 of the cranberry, unless some casualty happen to it, such as 

 early frosts or the ravages of the cranberry worm, that some- 

 times destroy almost a whole crop. Any bog meadow that 

 can be drained and flowed can be turned into a rich cranberry 

 field, and there is much of this kind of land that can be made 



