1911.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. 27 



improvenicuts in llie i)innping machinery and in preparations 

 for experiments. 



The cranberry bog pnrchased is planted with Early Black 

 and the Howe varieties. It lies a little above the nsual level 

 of the water in Spectacle Pond, the lift required to flood it 

 nsually varying between about 3 and 4 feet. The capacity of 

 the })0wer and pumping machinery is such that the bog can be 

 completely flooded in about six hours. The area of Si)ectacle 

 Pond is nearly 100 acres, and the supply of water is constant 

 and abundant. Being a " great pond " the waters are under 

 State control. Only one other bog, and that a relatively small 

 one, draws water from the pond, so that there must always be 

 water enough for any possible need for all kinds of experimen- 

 tal work. The bog when purchased was in exceptionally perfect 

 condition. It is one which has the reputation of more than 

 average fruitfulness. The crop last year^ as was the case with 

 most of the bogs in the cranberry districts of Massachusetts, 

 was moderate, and the net revenue derived from it was small. 

 It is, however, confidently anticipated that the product of the 

 bog will, over a series of years, be sufficient to produce a con- 

 siderable net income, which will be used in helping to meet the 

 expenses connected with our experimental work. The crop of 

 the past season brought $1,255 more than the costs of ordinary 

 maintenance, harvesting, packing, etc. The net sum available 

 towards the costs of experimental work, however, was substan- 

 tially $100 less than this, that being the amount which we were 

 compelled to pay for taxes, since the bog had not been the prop- 

 erty of the Commonwealth on the first of May. 



It will be remembered that our cranberry work thus far has 

 followed two principal lines of inquiry relating (1) to the fer- 

 tilizer requirements of the crop; (2) to insects affecting it. 



Fertilizer Experiments. — The fertilizer experiments begun 

 four years ago in Red Brook bog at Waquoit have been con- 

 tinued. The bog, however, gave only a very small crop during 

 the past season, — a result which we believe to have been due 

 in large measure to the effects of frost. The variations in yield 

 caused by uneven amount of frost damage were so great that it 



