38 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 433 



That these abnormalties are due to alkaline water is not proved, but they are 

 certainly associated with it. In the absence of experimental evidence, present 

 opinion must rest on the study of the development of the cranberry industry in 

 Wisconsin and the records and present condition of certain cranberry properties 

 in that State. In other words, we were forced to deal almost wholly with what 

 physicians refer to as "case histories." The success of this method depends on 

 there being made available accurate information regarding yield and management 

 problems. Such information can certainly not be published except in the most 

 general terms. 



Field Evidence in Wisconsin 



When the pH readings of most of the water sources used in Wisconsin had been 

 tabulated, as in columns one and two of Table 1, it became evident that nearly 

 three-fourths of all the cranberry properties in the State were using water with 

 pH of 7 or below. On an acreage basis the proportion having neutral to acid 

 flooding water was much greater. It was also apparent that between this group 

 and those mentioned above as having very alkaline water were a number of 

 properties using water with pH from 7.2 to 7.8, some of which produced good 

 crops but on which the general management problems, including weed control, 

 were decidedly aggravated. At the very bottom of the list were a few properties 

 on which, as already stated in the above quotation, no really satisfactory crop of 

 fruit had been produced during the fifteen years of our observation. This group 

 also included several abandoned properties. 



Table 1. — Comparison of Flooding Water Used on Cranberries 

 IN Wisconsin and Massachusetts. 



Number of Properties Range of Alkalinity of Water 



Using Water of the in the Classes Indicated 



pH Indicated (Expressed as Bound CO^) 



pH Wis. Mass. Wis. Mass. 



During the years 1937-1944, many readings were made on Wisconsin cranberry 

 waters not only for pH but also for alkalinity, expressed here as bound CO2. 

 There is some reason to believe that, of the two readings, the latter is more 

 indicative of the suitability of water for use in cranberry culture. It is certainly 

 subject to smaller fluctuations than is pH. Obviously (see Table 1, column 4) 

 the amount of bound CO2 is usually greater in water with a higher pH. The 

 correlation is not uniform but is sufficiently good for all practical purposes, and 

 in the present state of our knowledge both readings should be considered. 



To the list of Wisconsin properties with very alkaline water were later added 

 two bogs in another state, both of which had failed to produce good crops even 

 under experienced management. One of these had a flooding water with a pH of 

 7.8 and a bound CO2 content of 100 p.p.m. The other had a pH of 8.7 and a 

 bound CO2 content of 37 p.p.m. 



