AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES 185 



types of series that are usually water laid, moist silt 

 loam of the Dunkirk and Hudson series being per- 

 haps preeminent. The cominon belief that the 

 strawberry prefers an acid soil is hardly borne out 

 by the distribution of its acreage. However, it is 

 evident that a content of lime beyond what will in- 

 sure ready decay of organic matter and, therefore, a 

 high state of fertility is not essential. The commer- 

 cial production of strawberries in Oswego County be- 

 gan about 1883. 



It is interesting to note that 277 acres of cran- 

 berries on eighty-eight farms were reported in 1909. 

 This was only about one one-hundredth of the total 

 acreage. These gave a yield of 327,370 quarts worth 

 $20,743. The acreage was double that of ten years 

 before. This is all on Long Island, mostly on the 

 eastern end. The production of the crop requires a 

 rather high degree of skill. It is the only fruit that 

 thrives in low wet soils and during the winter the 

 crop is usually protected from low temperature by 

 flooding the area with water so that the plants are 

 submerged. The coast region of New Jersey sup- 

 ports half the total acreage of cranberries in the 

 country which was about 30,000 acres. 



Over 1200 farms report the production of nuts to 

 the total amount of 2,750,000 pounds. The greater 

 part were from black walnut, butternut, chestnut and 

 hickory nuts presumably from trees growing wild. 

 Eighty-one farms reported 456 English walnut trees 

 in bearing that produced nearly 10,000 pounds of 

 nuts. This tree is attracting considerable attention 



