CULTIVATION OF CRANBERRIES. 81 



A few side ditches, leading to the central one, are usually 

 necessary. Sometimes an outside drain is wanted along the 

 borders of the meadow, to cut off the flow of water from the 

 higher lands around. Very cold water should be kept from 

 the vines in summer and autumn. It is injurious to the vines, 

 and retards the growth and the ripening of the fruit. If a 

 dam is built to overflow the ground in winter, the outlet 

 through it, at the end of the principal drain, should be made 

 low enough to take off the water to the bottom of that drain, 

 or to the depth of thirty inches or more from the surface. 



Apertures made through the gate at various heights may be 

 opened or closed so as to completely control the depth, or rather 

 height, of water in the drains. This ability to regulate the 

 flow of water, will often make the difference between a large 

 crop of nice fruit, and a small and every way inferior crop. 



Wherever it is possible cover the Ground ivith Sand. — Clean, 

 coarse sand is best. If the soil is covered only two inches in 

 depth with sand, if will be of great service ; but three or four 

 inches deep would be still better. A thick layer of sand will 

 keep down most kinds of weeds, and prevent grass from 

 growing among the vines. Some men have made cranberry 

 culture profitable, where it required the constant labor of one 

 man three or four months of the warm season to keep half an 

 acre of vines clear of weeds ; but it is far better to spend a 

 month or two to prevent weeds from growing. Cranberries 

 have been sold at such high prices for a few years past that 

 almost every method of culture has been profitable. Even the 

 worst modes have paid fair dividends on the cost ; but the best 

 alone are to be recommended. Skilful culture may yet make 

 cranberry-growing profitable, even if the fruit should sell for 

 something less than one dollar per bushel. Where no sand 

 can be obtained, gravel may be spread on the meadow after the 

 turf has been removed. The less loam the gravel contains the 

 better. It should not be spread on in very great quantities, for 

 it is not so suitable as sand for the vines to grow in. A thin 

 layer of about an inch is, in some cases, better than more. 



The best time to set the Vines is Spring. — Cultivators who 



have vines always at hand on their own grounds frequently 



plant them out w hen it is most convenient, either in May and 



June, or September, October and November. If set in autumn, 



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