492 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Nov. 



For the New England Farmer. 



CULTURE OF CRANBERRIES IN 

 MEADOWS. 



I would like to know how to set out cranberries 

 — how to prepare the ground, — if a meadow full 

 of vines which have ceased to bear, can be made to 

 produce good cranberries, and what time is best 

 suited to set out new vines. D. Rowland. 



Charlton Depot, Mass. 



Remaeks. — As promised last week, we now give 

 such stiitcments as we have been able to collect in 

 regard to the cultivation of cranberries in mead- 

 ows, and quote from Eastwood's book on cran- 

 berry culture. 



PROPER LOCATIONS FOR CRANBERRY PATCHES. 



Just at this time there is considerable excitement 

 on the subject of cranberry cultivation. It is prob- 

 able that it has to some extent been created by the 

 very high prices which this fruit has been fetching 

 of late years, but more especially in the fall of 

 1855. It is quite proper that a practical farmer, 

 who is aware of the fact above stated, should ask 

 himself if he cannot cultivate the vine? if he can- 

 not turn some portion of his land to some account? 

 if he cannot appropriate a small patch of low 

 meadow land to be planted with cranberries? It 

 is believed that many who are keenly alive to this 

 subject, would at once begin to make a survey of 

 their farms to ascertain whether any part of them 

 would be, or could be made into a good profitable 

 cranberry patch, providing they knew what kind of 

 locations are most suitable, and best adapted to de- 

 velop this berry. 



In reference to locations, there are various opin- 

 ions, each grower giving the preference to those 

 situations in which his own vines do best. 



We find that there are such differences on this 

 subject that it will not be amiss to state them as 

 clearly as we can, and then describe those locations 

 to which the generality of producers so strictly ad- 

 here. 



The question has often been put. Can cranber- 

 ries be grown on uplands? Is it a suitable situa- 

 tion? will it pay to plant on elevated grounds? 

 The cranberry is not a native of the upland, and 

 will never do well in such situations if there is not 

 nigh to the roots some of those elements which 

 nourish and strengthen the plant in its wild and 

 unreclaimed condition. The cranberry needs mois- 

 ture, and that in great proportions for so small a 

 plant. If it is set out on the upland, and it does 

 not derive sufficient moisture from the atmosphere, 

 that is, more than is needed by surrounding vege- 

 tation, and if it cannot derive it from another 

 source, it will die. 



If the cranberry is planted upon the upland, 

 water should be in the ground, so as to supply the 

 roots with moisture. If that situation is an incline, 

 it will be better, because it will take off the surplus 

 water under the p'ants, and leave them enough to 

 meet their demands. In upland planting, where 

 the vines have done well and produced good crops, 

 we are of opinion that they have been favorably 

 situated. 



In the absence, or rather scarcity of moisture, 

 it is common to hoe and stir the soil about the 

 roots of the plants, that it may be kept porous, so 

 Ltiat the air may contribute to the vine's necessities. 



You must not forget this, that those who plant 

 on uplands are put to trouble and expense in fre- 

 quent hoeing. Some individuals seem to admire 

 and prefer the upland, but we cannot see any rea- 

 son for this, except that it is the best situation they 

 have at command. Years of trial and experiment 

 may yet bring this location into notoriety. We 

 have seen the upland tried on Cape Cod, but the 

 plants failed, though some few lived and yielded 

 fruit. The gentleman who tried this experiment, 

 (James Howes, Esq.,) believes that if he had taken 

 care of his plants and hoed them often, he would 

 have succeeded belter. This is his opinion. In 

 our investigations on this subject we fell in with the 

 following item in the Boston Telegraph, which we 

 give entire, that the reader may have all the evi- 

 dence we can give him in favor of the upland as a 

 suitable location for cranberries : 



"Other experiments, however, show the practi- 

 cability of raising cranberries on upland. Mr. 

 Roberts* experiment embraced a tract near the foot 

 of a slope descending in a westerly direction. 

 The ground was plowed eight inches deep, and bar- 

 rowed ; light furrows, three and a half feet apart, 

 were run lengthwise, and the sods were cut from 

 the swamp, carted on the upland, and placed three 

 feet apart ia the rows (though two would have been 

 better,) then carefully hoed and kept free from 

 weeds for two years. No water was supplied ex- 

 cept that received from occa^sional rains." 



Notwithstanding this evidence appears strong 

 and conclusive, yet we believe that the most expe- 

 rienced cultivators regard the experiment as hazar- 

 dous, and in most cases fatal to the development of 

 the cranberry. We give the opinion of one of 

 the oldest cultivators on Cape Cod, which is, — 

 "that if you plant on the upland it is difficult to 

 raise your vines to bearing perfection, and it will 

 entail much labor and expense upon him who un- 

 dertakes it. Guard against the upland mania." 

 Upland planting is regarded as "risky business ;" 

 it is therefore avoided on Cape Cod, where the 

 management of the vine is better understood than 

 in any other part of America. 



Places in which stagnant water has collected 

 have been selected by some persons, and converted 

 into cranberry patches. It is positively wrong to 

 do this, because the water lodging in the soil hav- 

 ing no drain by which it may be drawn off, renders 

 it sodden, cold and stiff, and it consequently causes 

 the roots of the vine to rot, and ultimately the 

 plants die from such a surfeit. Such locations can- 

 not with safety be chosen except they undergo a 

 thorough preparation — draining, levelling and cart- 

 ing on soil, which is friendly to the growth of cran- 

 berries. 



If these stagnant pools are selected, great pre- 

 cautions will be demanded in order to make them 

 suitable for the reception of the vine. 



Let us name those locations, and point out those 

 situations which are most conducive to the full de- 

 velopment of the berry. 



In selecting a place for a patch, it is well to con- 

 sider its aspect. Though we have seen the vine 

 doing well, and to all appearances very thrifty, 

 when the yard has faced the north, yet experience 

 is in favor of a southerly direction. If possible, 

 in forming your patch, let it be sheltered from the 

 cold raw winds ; give it the advantage of the warm 

 breezes; by doing this you will be more likely to 

 succeed than if you neglected it. 



