CRANBERRY CULTURE 105 



Ditching. After turfing, the drainage ditches are excavated, the 

 size and number of which depend upon the area to be drained, the 

 number of springs, and density of soil. They usually consist of a 

 large ditch through the middle of the swamp and lateral ditches 

 running at right angles from this to the upland; these latter are 

 generally about two feet wide and deep. A ditch must entirely 

 surround the bog at the point where the peaty soil of the swamp 

 meets the sandy soil of the upland. This is to carry off the surface 

 water and is a protection from insects crawling on to the bog from 

 the upland. These ditches not only drain the swamp, permitting 

 air circulation and chemical changes, which will furnish food supply 

 to the plants, but also are necessary in case of flowage. 



Dikes. The next step is to divide the entire swamp into sections 

 according to its topography. It is advisable to have a swamp 

 divided into sections of comparatively a few acres. This is accom- 

 plished by a system of dikes located according to the natural con- 

 ditions of the bog. They are usually constructed by laying up 

 two parallel walls of turf the desired distance apart, this turf 

 having been cut from the surface of the swamp and then filling in 

 between the two walls with sand from the upland. In locating 

 these dikes it is necessary to have the area to be flowed by a given 

 dike as nearly level as possible. 



Grading. Each area separated by a dike is then graded, for which 

 a special tool much like'a hoe but heavier and sharp is used. The 

 high places are cut down and the low places filled in, thus permitting 

 flooding with a minimum supply of water in the shortest time, as 

 well as an even development of the fruit. 



Sanding. We must then cover the graded area with clean sand 

 free from clay, loam, or seeds to a depth of from four to six inches 

 according to the nature of the soil. This, as all other work on a 

 cranberry bog, must be done by hand. The usual practice is with 

 wheelbarrows over moveable planks. Care must be taken not to 

 tread this sand into the peat and also to spread it to a uniform depth. 



Planting. Seeds are used for originating new varieties. Mead- 

 ows are established by planting cuttings from ten to fifteen inches 

 long laid flat on the ground from ten to twenty inches apart each 

 way. Then with a dibble placed in the middle of the cutting force 

 the plant doubling upon itself through the sand into the peat. 



