VACCIXIACK.'E. 



173 



ius .,ua £ruit.l.<.a.-i..g l.rai.ches. Leaves elliptical. n.arRi.is rolled „ve,-, upper 



iwe dark ™en glaTu-ous underneath; flower large; antUera ...ore than tw.ce 



1 it'th o 1.?. Iila,.,e.,t. Kruit varying fro.n ca..,pa.„,l;Ue to orb.cu lar 



dark when ripe. The e.-anberry sports f.c.ely as to the Iru.t; the leaf .s 



^■'?hrrrr'tr.^:'^*'-^ea a.„. ,«ite co..sta.,t varieties k.,owua.„oug 

 cuUivators as follows: Bell-sl.aped. or l-ear-shaped ; Bugle-shaped ; Cherry- 

 shaped Tls last for.., is sc.eti.nes Hattened at the poles, a..d .s theu called 

 Cheete shaped C.Itivators who have .nade careful oUservat.ous th.uk they 

 have detecLd fro.n 20 to 40 varieties. The following ftve for...s are very 



'TXirpear-shaped, from six tenths of an inch to an inch i., length. a..d 

 four to seven te.iths in dia.neter ; dark when r.pe. „ ■ ., 



Var ™<. .. shape fro,,, fusitor.„ to cylindrical, someti...es s.ualler .u the 

 nrUidle tha.^at the In.ls, a..d every way larger than Ko. 1 ; dark when r.pe. 

 This is what the growers call bugle-shaped. 



3. Nearly globular, from a quarter to three 

 quarters of' an iuch iu diameter ; very dark wheu 



4. About the size and shape of No. 3, but 

 creamy white when ripe. 



5. Very mucli smaller than Nos. 3 and 4. 

 Globular,' three to four tenths of an inch in diam- 

 eter; verv prolific, and very dark when ripe. 



OXYCOCCrS MACR0CARPC3 



(Cranberry). 



9 0. palustris, Pers. (Vaccinium oxycoccus.) 

 (Small Cranberrv.) Differs from O. macrocarpus 

 iu bearing verv 'much smaller leaves and fruit. 

 The fruit also vields a sharper acid, indicated by 

 its name, sour-berried. It is collected where it 

 grows spontaneously, but is not cultivated. 



Geography. — The geographical range of the 

 cranberrv is verv wide; it reaches from 38° to 

 60° north latitude, and covers a belt trending east 

 and we.st from Siberia to the Britisli Isles, and in 

 North America from the Atlantic coast to the 



/VywX/V — Or, /coccus, the generic name, is from the Greek 6^6s. sour, and 

 kSkkos a berrv —sour berrv. The specific name, macrocarpus, ii^ from the 

 r.veek aaKp6sjoncr^ and Kapirds, fruit; hence we have hug fruit. ^ Tins name 

 was given bv Aiton to distinguish it from the small-fruited species O. palus- 

 tris The creuus wa.s formerlv known by the name of vacaunim, the meaning 

 of "which is'^.bscure. The common name cranberry, which is a corruption of 

 cram berry, is said to have been given because the assurgent branches bend 

 over in a curve resembling the neck of the crane. 



History. — 'V\\e historv of this plant furnishes little .>f ii.tere.«^t. It has tor 

 some vears been under cultivation, but its importance as a food-plant or an 

 article of commerce is of recent date. It is largely cultivated in the middle 

 Vtlantic States, Massachusetts, lihode I.><lan.i. New York, New Jersey, Dela- 

 ware, and Maryland. More attention has been given to it in New Jersey 



than elsewhere. >, .i i i>,,..i;„.r 



Cultivation.- Tlu' .nude of cultivation ,n (».•.•:.... M..nmouth. and huil.ng- 



