390 



CRANBERRY 



surface in the growing season. (2) Soil which retains 

 moisture through the summer, for Cranberries suffer 

 greatly in drought. (3) Suflacient water supply to en- 

 able it to be flooded. (4) A fairly level or even surface 

 so that the flooding will be of approximateh uniform 

 depth over the entire area. ( 5 ) Not over liable to f i osts 

 Bogs which contain moss or sphagnum and which have 

 a peaty or mucky soil are usually chosen If heath like 

 shrubs grow naturally in the bog, the mdications are all 

 the better. The presence of the Cassandra or Leather 

 leaf is regarded as a good augury Black ash red 

 maple, swamp huckleberry, and white cedar swamps are 

 often very satisfactory. Old mill-ponds often give good 

 results. 



Before the Cranberries are planted the bog must be 

 cleaned of trees, bushes, moss and roots This may 

 be done by "turfing," which is the digging out of the 



CRANBERRY 



Hood in spring or fall, to kill insects or to protect 

 from frosts. The objects of flooding are as follows : (1) 

 to protect the plants from heaving in winter; (2) to 

 avoid late spring and earh fall frosts (3) to drown in- 

 sect« (4) to protect tn m dr ught (5) to guard against 

 fire Unless serious t < ntii t, n les arise the bog is 

 flooded only m wmti r \ tl 1 M ^ looks like a lake 

 (Fig 5G8) Good ri uli r It n I now and then in 

 dry or upland bo„ « 1 i I i i f i flooded but such 

 bogs ormeadow»rai h „n iiiut im lesuHs and they 

 are less advised than t rm rh 



There are thiee centers of Cianberry growing m North 

 America —Cape Cod peninsula New Jersey Wisconsin. 

 " ' ' " ' ' (If It was in the Cape 



'II I 1 I _ in The first at- 



' I \ William Ken- 



\ 1 list sa-s s that 

 1 1 I cultivated the 



I I \ Hajden of Lin- 

 '1 1 1 I tiom his farm in 



ill 1 I li brought him in 



1 il t I n 1 subsequent edi- 



'1 I II mil It IS not said 

 I em were wild or cultivated. 

 ith all the increase m production, 



Each has methods pecu 

 Cod region that Craul 

 tempts were made f i 

 rick writing in Ih 



Capt Henry Hall I 

 Cianb iivtwentv \ 



swamp growth, or by "drowning," which is deeply 

 flooding the place for a" year. The method of preparing 

 the surface for receiving the plants varies in different 

 regions. Open ditches are run through the place in 

 suflScient number to carry off the surface water. They 

 are usually made 2 to 4 feet deep. If some water stands 

 in them during the summer, better results are expected. 

 These ditches usually feed into one main or central 

 ditch; and this main ditch is preferably the one which, 

 when dammed at its lower end, floods the bog by back- 

 ing up the water. Growers prefer, if possible, to divert 

 a living brook through the bog, or to straighten and 

 deepen one which may exist there ; but in the absence 

 of a brook, a reservoir 

 may be constructed above 

 the bog. Sufficient water 

 supply should be had to 

 ( o\ er the entire area from 

 December until April or 

 earlv May, to a depth of at 

 ^ least one foot. The lower 



^^■^l places will have a deeper 

 ^s=^^" covering, but 4 or 5 feet 

 m pi ices usually does no 

 harm m the winter. It 

 Cranberry haud-picker aNo I) iv be necessary to 



prices are higher than thosi 

 received by Mr. Hayden. 



In the third (1841) and subsequent editions, it is said 

 that "an acre of Cranberries in full bearing will produce 

 over 200 bushels ; and the fruit generally sells, in the 

 markets of Boston, for $1.50 per bushel, and much higher 

 than in former years." It was as late as 1850, however, 

 that Cranberry culture gained much prominence. It was 

 in 1856 that the first treatise appeared : B. Eastwood's 

 "Complete Manual for the Cultivation of the Cranberry." 

 About 1845, Cranberry culture began to establish itself 

 in New Jersey. 



In the Cape Cod r 

 surface covering is 

 off. The obiect is t. 



IP l>o!:'s are "turfed." The 

 liiill -'(uares and hauled 

 1 1 1 1 surface in order 

 ; nullity. The bog is 

 . r|. :iii ^;in(l is spread over 

 the entire area to the dcj.tli i.f aliout 4 inches. In this 

 covering, the Tines are planted. The sand keeps down 

 weeds and thereby lessens subsequent labor; it affords 

 a moisture-holding mulch for the muck; it renders the 

 plantation easier to be worked in wet weather, and it pre- 

 vents the too vigorous growth of the vine. Every four 

 of five years a fresh sanding, to the depth of an inch or 

 less, is given. This keeps the vines short and close. 

 Formerly, whole roots or " sods " of Cranberry were used 



