48 



CRANBERRY CULTURE. 



that may exist, and also to loosen the roots and bring 

 them to the surface. 



Some growers think it best to leave the roots upon the 

 surface, saying, " when they decay, the soil will be in- 

 creased in fertility." But we cannot afford to use such 

 expensive fertilizers as roots and sticks, for the reason 

 that, if they are left in the soil, some of them will grow : 



Fig. 17. PLANTS ON CLEAN AND ROOTY SURFACES. 



and if upon the top, they will seriously interfere with the 

 matting vines by keeping the runners from rooting. Fig- 

 ure 17 illustrates the difference between a rooty surface 

 and one made perfectly clean. 



Savannas, with sand within reach of the plow, may 

 be very cheaply prepared by throwing the turf, one rod 

 each way, into windrows, and planting vines upon the 

 cleared ground between them. (See fig. 18.) 



The wash from the decaying turf is found to act as a 

 good fertilizer, and the embankments serve as a protec- 



Fig. 18. PLANTING IN STRIPS. 



tion against the blasts of winter, in situations not suscep- 

 tible of being flooded. 



MlLL-PONDS. 



Success in cultivating the cranberry on mill-pond bot- 

 toms depends, perhaps, more upon the location than upon 



