ON CRANBERRIES. 55 



The Committee think that Mr. Low is fairly entitled to the Socie- 

 ty's first premium of fifteen dollars. 



Respectfully submitted. 



DAVID CHOATE, Chairman. 

 Essex, Noi ember 10, 1847. 



WINTHROl' LOW'S STATEMENT. 



To the Committee on C7'anherries : 



Gentlemen, — I offer for premium three quarters of an acre of 

 land, set with cranberry vines. The soil is of a sandy loam. In 

 November, 1816, it was ploughed. One half of the whole quantity 

 was turf ground, the other half had been planted with corn in drills 

 for two years. May 17, 1817, I furrowed the ground with a horse 

 plough in drills, five feet apart one way, two furrows to each drill. 

 On the turf part of the ground, I found it necessary to cut through 

 the turf in order to get a suitable depth for the cranberry sod. In 

 the drills were set 1267 sods, containing the cranberry vines ; the 

 average surface of the sod is nine by eleven inches, average thick- 

 ness four inches ; the sods were set four and a half feet apart in the 

 drills, let into the ground with a spade, level with the surface, care- 

 fully leveling the whole surface of the ground round the sod with a 

 hoe. I state for the information of others, the labor of setting on 

 the turf part of the ground was more than double, to setting on that 

 part which had been cultivated. I would therefore recommend to 

 plough and cultivate the ground one year before setting. 

 The whole expense was as follows : 



Ploughing, $2 



Cutting and hauling sods from the cranberry meadow, 6 



Setting cranberry vines, 5 



Cultivating and hoeing, 4 



$17 

 In regard to the growth of the vine, they all appear to be alive, 

 and th^ runners have extended from one inch to three feet in every 



