1890 



VACCINIUM 



considered superior to the lamp or torch, as it is more 

 easily handled. Each section of the lease is usually 

 burned over every third year. In this way the birches 

 an 1 alders are subdued and the Blueberries spring up 

 q kly and bear a mas. mum ciop the >ear folio v ng 

 the burn ng 



The 1 

 fru t 

 keep Ion 



el er 



facto e are ope e 



1 to the larger c t 



ually bh pped 



in the seaso I 

 a cons deral 1 

 for use wh 1 

 q art boxes 



All of the eaih t.uit is [.u ktd bj hand and only ripe 

 berries are gathered. Later in the season, particularly 

 on "old burns," i. e., on areas which will have to be 

 burned over the next year, the fruit is gathered with a 

 "blueberry rake." This is an implement somewhat simi- 

 lar to the cranberry rake in use on Cape Cod, and may 

 be likened to a dust-pan, the bottom of which is com- 

 posed of stiff parallel wire rods. See Fig. 2628. The 

 fruit may be gathered much more quickly and more 

 cheaply by means of the rake. The bushes are, how- 

 ever, seriously injured by the treatment. In no case 

 should the rake be used in gathering the High-bush 

 Blueberries. As the berries are gathered they are 

 passed through a fanning mill to eliminate leaves and 

 twigs before being sent to the canning factory. At the 

 factory they are again submitted to a much stronger 

 winnowing. This is the only preparation required for 

 market. 



The financial importance of the Blueberry industry 

 is very difficult to estimate at the present time. In 

 Maine the canning of Blueberries is largely in the 

 hands of a few packers. The largest of the factories has 

 a daily capacity of 700 bushels and the average annual 

 output is 8,300 cases of 2-dozen cans each, represent- 

 ing 6,250 bushels of fresh fruit. The average price per 

 case for the canned fruit is SI. 90. The value of the 

 annual product of this one factory is not far from 

 $15,000. The total canned product of Maine's "Blue- 

 berry barrens " in 1899 was about 50,000 cases and the 

 price per case was $2.20, making the value of the Blue- 

 berry crop in this one small section considerably more 

 than $100,000. In northern Michigan the annual ship- 



25:7. 



box ol fancy Blueberries, prepared for market. 



VACCINIUM 



calities. In some cases these are albino forms; in others 



tlie color is due to a fungus. Albino forms of T. Myr- 



tillit.-i «riv n-.-..rdi-d as early as 1578 by Dodoens. The 



Dill, r ^|,i rics thus far recorded are- V. Vitls-UJaa, 



I J h and c'llans. It is 



I 1 1 that many other spec es exhibit this 



n N I ec al ea on can be assigned for this 



d tterence n colo The wl te forn s are found growing 



( sually n col e ) 1 tl e le of the normal type. If 



expo d to f U 1 1 1 1 e fr t ery likely to have 



1111 f rlet color. The al- 



t Uj distinguished 



he presence of a 



/ I 1 t Irawback in the 



1 till I 1 een the difBculty, 



j ( 1 1 fl c It f J ropagat o The few nur- 



1 o have Se e 1 the u fo ale have usually 



I I 1 1 p n the a ve hea hs an 1 pastures for their 

 111 f pi nts rather than upon the nursery rows. 



I I it have 1 een most d scourag ng and the Blue- 

 I e tl o h an ong the finest of fr ts, are almost 



In the ca e of the c anberr es propae,ation is effected 

 almost excl s vely by cutt ngs (see C iiherry). With 

 the Bl eberr es gratt ng s eas ly perf r led, and in this 

 vaj spec ally cl o ce n 1 1 als n ay 1 e perpetuated. 

 hor general purpo e however ee 11 gs or division 

 may be used. Propagation by seed naturally requires 

 care and skill, but is entirely feasible. The method fol- 

 lowed at the Arnold Arboretum, and at the Maine Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, where for several years 

 seedling Blueberries have been grown, is essentially as 

 follows: Seed-pans or boxes about 4 in. deep are half 

 iilled with potsherds and 

 covered with a layer of 



ments are from 3,000-5,000 bushels. In New Jersey, 

 Pennsylvania and West Virginia large quantities of the 

 fruit are gathered from the plains and mountains, but 

 the work is not systematized. 



White or pinkish fruits, instead of the usual deep 

 blue-colored berries, are not uncommon in certain lo- 



the 



Blueberry rake 



with a mallet. The seed, 

 washed free from the pulp 

 of freshly gathered fruit, is 

 then sown thickly, pressed 

 down lightly and covered 



with a slight sprinkling of sphagnum. The boxes 

 are placed in a coldframe until January, when they 

 are brought to a house with a temperature of 55°-60° 

 and a range of 10° higher by day. As the young 

 seedlings appear, the sphagnum is gradually removed 

 and a quantity of compost sifted in among the plants. 

 The young plants are treated like other delicate seed- 

 lings", and handled about twice during the first season. 

 After Sept. 1 they are hardened off and later removed 

 to a coldframe for winter, the frames being protected to 

 retain the foliage as late as possible and covered with hay 

 or litter (hiring the winter. The ufxt spring the plants 



shaded until th..i 

 given during; tin- 

 few inches of loai 

 ing is the only 

 spring, or two yea 

 porm:.nontly, Sr.. 



td. The following 

 / may be planted out 

 until dry and then 

 . will seldom germi- 

 low Blueberry (V. 

 it in three to four 

 ■()» requires four to 

 . Sta. 



albi'flonim. 18. 



caespitosura, 10. 

 Canailense. 13. 

 Constablad, 18. 

 corymbosum. 18. 



INDEX, 

 erythrocarpon, 5. 

 fuscatum, 17, 18. 

 hirsutum. 14. 

 mjicrocarpon. 3. 

 melanocarpum, 25. 

 Myrslnites, 7. 

 niyrtilloides, 15. 

 Myrtillus. 9. 



Oxyeoccus, 1. 

 pallidum, 18. 

 parvifolium, 4. 

 Pennsylvanicum, 



vacillans, 8. 

 virgatum. 17. 

 Vitisldffia, 3. 



