CRANBERRY (iROWING 



35 



HARVESTING 



Cranl^erry liarvesting generally begins about Labor Day and continues 

 till about October 20 (Fig. 30). The harvest period is so short that many 

 growers, especially if the season is late, have to begin when the fruit is 

 only partly colored. Early Black berries keep i)est if they are picked 

 before they are fully red. They usually should be gathered the second 

 week in September. The later Howes are picked, the better they keep; 

 it is often best to gather them late in September, but they should be left 

 on the vines till the second week in October where bog conditions allow it. 

 Other Massachusetts varieties are harvested as follows: Black Veil, the 

 first week in September; McFarlin, P>ugle, Centerville, and Centennial, 

 the second or tliird week in October. The berries grow sweeter and larger 

 as they ripen, so the later they are jjicked, the better the sauce the\' make 

 and the greater the yield. 



Cranberries should be gathered only when the vines are dry. A frosty 

 night compels the flooding of unpicked areas, and usually little harvesting 

 can be done the next day. Berries picked late in the afternoon keep better 

 than those gathered in the heat of the day. 



Cranberries were picked by hand at first, and it took an army to gather 

 the crop. Some hand picking is still done on the Cape (Fig. 31 A), but 

 it is an expensive and probably unwise practice except on thin or poorly 

 anchored vines where scoops do too much harm. Small l)ut etTective 

 devices known as "snaps" (Fig. 31 P>) are often used to gather the fruit 

 on new or sparse vines. Power machines (Fig. 31 C) have been used 

 considerably but are not widely favored. 



The Cape Cod and Wisconsin crops are now picked mostly with scoops 

 (Figs. ,^2 and 33 B). Hand picking is more common in New Jersey. Fair 



Fig. 32. Scooping Cranberries, 

 in sometimes scoods fifteen barrels 



