100 CRANBERRY CULTURE. 



mated, early in the season, at two thousand bushels ; but, 

 owing to excessive heat, and the ravages of the fruit worm, 

 only eleven hundred bushels were gathered. 



Cranberries, at this time (March, 1870), are worth, in 

 Philadelphia, $25 per barrel. 



We are informed that the U. S. Government has recent- 

 ly adopted the plan of regularly issuing cranberries 

 among its supplies for ships. They will, no doubt, be 

 found a valuable preventive against scurvy; and when 

 their virtues become fully known, the demand on ship- 

 board will be greatly increased. 



CHAPTER XH. 



LETTERS 

 FROM PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



Chicago, III, Feb. 7th, 1870. 



Dear Sir : In reply to yours of 22d, would say, as to 

 the culture of our marsh, and the superiority of our ber- 

 ries, we think it is owing to the large depth of our peat 

 bed. The alluvial soil, deposited every spring by the 

 large overflow of several miles, deposits entirely in our 

 marsh. We also attribute our success in part to the 

 numerous ditches we have ; in all, we calculate from 16 

 to 18 miles in extent. 



We keep our vines well flooded during the winter, and, 

 on account of the late June frosts we are subjected to, 

 we rarely raise our flood-gates until the 15th of June. 



We are subject to early frosts in the autumn. In 1868, 

 we had a very promising crop estimated at 2,500 bar- 

 rels but owing to the early frosts, only picked about 400 

 "barrels sound berries. 



