21 8 FRUIT HARVESTING, STORING, ISIARKKTING 



expenditure of labor and money, and even then the business 

 is hazardous unless thoroughly understood and cared for. 

 The question of drainage is a highly important one. Cran- 

 berry vines are flooded in the fall, beginning in October, and 

 this is continued as late as May, when the water is drawn off. 

 This furnishes protection from frosts, and in some degree 

 from insect pests. Blossoms appear in June, and with an 

 ample supply of moisture the fruit ripens in September and 

 October. The cranberry frequently suffers both in fruit and 

 vine from the ravages of insects, and the crop is also subject 

 to damage through fungus diseases and drought. Upon 

 being harvested the fruit is carefully cleaned, screened, and, 

 assorted, due attention being given to the process of ripening 

 or coloring previous to placing in barrels and crates. Cold 

 storage for keeping cranberries during early autumn is not 

 generally favored; successful growers prefer to store the fruit 

 in a cool, dry bog house or cellar, disposing of it before cold 

 weather sets in. In the states where mostly grown, law 

 governs the size of package. In Massachusetts, New Jersey, 

 and Wisconsin the crate must hold one bushel, or thirty-two 

 quarts dry measure. New Jersey law provides that the 

 standard crate shall be i% x 12 x 22 inches, capacity 1980 

 cubic inches, with the barrel three times a crate, or containing 

 ninety-six quarts. The Massachusetts barrel is one hundred 

 quarts; efforts were made in a recent legislature to reduce this 

 to ninety-six quarts. 



" The cranberry crop is practically all consumed at home. 

 Commendable efforts were made a few years ago, mostly by 

 New Jersey growers, to build up an export trade, but nothing 

 of consequence has ever been accomplished. A special agent 

 spent several months in England teaching best methods of 

 cooking and serving the fruit, and creating a favorable 

 impression, yet cranberries are still regarded in the light of a 

 novelty abroad, an occasional season showing perhaps five 

 thousand bushels exported from this country. Under the 

 Dingley law an ad valorem duty of 25 per cent has been placed 

 upon foreign cranberries, which will serve to shut out possible 

 shipments from Canada. 



