REPORT OF CRANBERRY SUBSTATION FOR 1915. 47 



girdler. With the new scheme of management these insects probably might 

 be satisfactorily controlled by the very late holding of the winter flowage, 

 and frequent resanding be thereby rendered unnecessary. As the writer's 

 experiments have shown that resanding has a strong tendency to injure the 

 keeping quality of the fruit, it will be seen that, with this plan, the advisa- 

 bility of the use of sand, after a bog has become well vined over, would be 

 strictly on probation. If resanding could be dispensed with, a considerable 

 saving of expense would be realized. 



2. Treatment of the Insect Pests. — In the new scheme of management 

 no spraying in connection with any of the more common insect troubles, 

 except on strictly dry bogs, is called for, water being relied upon entirely 

 to control all these enemies on all bogs with winter flowage. Spraying 

 might, of course, have to be resorted to occasionally in dealing with out- 

 breaks of spanworms, army worms or cutworms, and the gypsy moth 

 might also sometimes have to be treated in that way. Spraying is expen- 

 sive, and the mechanical injury done to the vines and prospective crop in 

 the operation is usually considerable. Moreover, it is at best only a 

 partially successful treatment for any of the flowed bog pests. 



Water used in the ways suggested should be entirely effective against 

 all of the commonly injurious cranberry insects, with the possible exception 

 of the fruit worm. Promising as it does to be by far the most effectual 

 means of treatment, it is, at the same time, a general remedy which may 

 be used with a minimum of expense and injury. This change in the 

 methods of insect treatment would in itself, in the long run, make possible 

 a considerable saving in expense. 



With the methods of management at present in vogue, the fruit worm 

 takes a considerable toll on most Massachusetts bogs every year. The 

 amount of its injury on a bog in any season depends not upon the number 

 of berries that are being produced, granted there are enough to keep the 

 worms from starving, but upon the number of fruit worms that are at 

 work. It will be seen, therefore, that, if the plan of producing a crop only 

 every other year is adopted, the vines being nearly or completely barren 

 on the alternate years, this insect will thereby certainly be cheated entirely 

 out of one year's feeding every -other year. Those who realize how great 

 the average yearly loss caused by the fruit worm is will appreciate how 

 such a reduction in its work might result in a substantial increase in the 

 average quantity of fruit obtained. As the damage done by this insect 

 in the year that the crop was produced would be reduced to a minimum, 

 as already indicated, it having been both drowned out and starved out on 

 the bog the year before, it seems evident that, under this system of man- 

 agement, as inexpensive and as satisfactory a means of control would be 

 had as could be hoped for. 



3. Quality of Fruit 'produced. — No one can tell how the keeping quality 

 of cranberries would be affected by the changes in management here pro- 

 posed until they have been tried out. This is a feature of the program that 

 deserves the most careful investigation and consideration, for, as long as 



