176 



of him who has made the study and practice of that Ms special 

 husincss. 



It is possible to grow cranberries on almost any kind of soil. 

 Probably there is not a farm under cultivation in all New 

 England, on which cranberry vines cannot be made to flourish 

 and to produce more or less fruit. But there are tvs^o kinds of 

 soil on which it will pa?/ to cultivate this valuable fruit. Clean, 

 moist sand, and wet meadow or bog soils are most suitable. 

 In Essex County there are many hundreds of acres of wet 

 meadow lands, that now produce only small crops of poor 

 grass, and worthless crops of moss and weeds. Such soil i& 

 excellent for cranberries. Indeed, cranberries of many varie- 

 ties, and of good quality, grow spontaneously along the bor- 

 ders and elsewhere on these meadows in all parts of the county. 

 Thus, we have suitable lands ; we have good vines ; the crop 

 can be profitably grown ; there is no reason why we should 

 not succeed in this comparatively new branch of agriculture, 

 I will note some points that may be of value to beginners. 

 First, 



SELECT GHOtJND THAT CAN BE OVEEFLOWED, 



This is essential to the best success. On all meadow, bog or 

 peaty soils, the vines should be covered with water, from twelve 

 to twenty inches deep in winter. This is especially important 

 where the vines are kept free from moss, as they should be, 

 A more shallow depth of water is not so good, for it is liable 

 to become frozen quite through in extreme cold weather. In 

 that case the ice might seriously injure the vines. On some 

 peculiar sandy soils, cranberry vines will do very well without 

 winter flooding. But in our severe climate, they are iu all 

 cases much the better for such winter protection. There arc 

 other benefits — and very important ones — to be derived from 

 the use of facilities for overflowing. The prevention of injury 

 by spring frost, is one ; the destruction of the cranberry worm 

 is another. I may allude to these in another place. Another 

 point is, to 



