No. 4.] CRANBERRY CULTURE. 443 



Turkey strutting in the lane. 



Thinks he's very fine; 

 Cranberries gleaming in the sun. 



How hke rubies shine. 

 Mince pies sitting in a row, 



Oysters from the bay; 

 What a glorious feast we'll have 



On Thanksgiving day. 



Fall Work. — Previous to the ground freezing up for winter, all 

 weeds should be removed from the bog; dikes and flumes should be 

 examined, to see that all is secure before the bog is flowed. 



A rank growth of vines will not yield a good crop of berries, and 

 what there are will be late in ripening, and subject to rot if the season 

 is hot and wet. Under these conditions it is well to resand the vines 

 with 1 to 2 inches of sand. Vine sanding is done on the same principle 

 as the sanding of new bog, with one exception. Instead of dumping 

 the sand on the bog, each wheeler brings his shovel on the wheelbarrow 

 load, and spreads the sand from his barrow. To accomplish this a 

 plank runway is laid from the sand pit to the bog. Upon this runway 

 men with wheelbarrows bring the sand as directed by the foreman, 

 who attends to moving the runway as the sanding progresses. Sanding 

 is often done after ice forms on the bog. The only objections to this 

 are, that the vines needing sand cannot be so readily seen, and some- 

 times when ice breaks up it drifts with the sand on it, carrying it to 

 parts of the bog where it is not needed, thus distributing the sand 

 unevenly. 



Winter Flowage. — For the protection of cranberry vines during the 

 cold months, flowage should take place just prior to the freezing up of 

 the ground. This prevents winter-killing of vines, which is liable to 

 occur during severe winters, the same as grass will winter-kill. It also 

 prevents the throwing of vines by the action of freezing and thawing. 



Should any portion of the bog be less than 12 inches under water, 

 it will be well to keep a sharp lookout to the outlets after the ice forms, 

 and prevent any lifting of the ice by heavy rains or sudden thaws, 

 which will pull the vines, where frozen into the ice. 



Late flowing in the spring will retard the growth of the cranberry 

 vine, and thus it can be carried beyond the usual frost-killing season. 

 Water is kept on by some growers on the Cape until early summer, to 

 avoid the late spring frosts; but this will shorten the growing season, 

 and cause the berries to ripen late in the fall. Seasons will vary, but 

 on Cape Cod from the last of November to the last of April is a good 

 average period for bog flowing. 



When there is an ample supply of water, the grower, to kill off in- 

 jurious insects, will resort to a twenty-four hours' flowing of his bog 

 during a rain or cloudy weather, as the sun will scald berries that are 

 under water. If a bog is seriously infested with worms or insects, to 



