THE illijstois fa.iim:eii. 



277 



ed to make tliem grow. As an example, I 

 might site the well known fact that a boy 

 12 or 15 years old, will eat as much as a la- 

 boring man. Salt the sheep twice per week, 

 and change their pastures frequently, and 

 the condition of the sheep and the quality 

 and weight of the wool are both improved, 

 to the owner's profit. 



Cranberry Culture. 

 A writer in the Germantown Tdegra-ph 

 has collected a number of facts in regard to 

 this fruit, in a measure new to us, and of a 

 character to encourage the culture of this 

 important fruit. He writes as follows : 



The American Cranberry ( Oxycoccus Ma- 

 crocaiyufi) is so familiar to us that a detailed 

 description of the berry would be useless ; 

 but of the many thousands who enjoy this 

 racy fruit, very few know whether it grows 

 on trees, bushes or vines; and fewer still 

 have any idea of the extent to which it is 

 cultivated in some sections of our country; 

 nor of the quantities annually exported to 

 England. 



The market value of this berry ranges 

 from three to six dollars per bushel, varying 

 of course, as do all other fruits, with the 

 supply and demand, but rarely even in the 

 most productive seasons falling below three 

 dollars. 



The American Cranberry is divided by 

 growers and dealers into three varieties — the 

 Jiell, the Bugle, and the Cherry. 



Although the cranberry will grow on al- 

 most any soil where the water is not more 

 than a foot from the surface, yet experience 

 has proved that the soil best adapted to them 

 is nothing more nor less than plain beach 

 sand, entirely free from any matter, either 

 animal or vegetable — in fact, this berry may 

 be said to live entirely on air and water. 



Peat Is found to be well adapted to this 

 berry, but requires some care in preparing, 

 owing to its liability to break and crack in 

 hot weather ; this may be obviated, however, 

 by taking off the turf and grass, leaving the 

 surface exposed to the action of the weather 

 for a year, after which it becomes light and 

 porous, and fit for the reception of the vines. 



The cultivation of this berry being as yet 

 quite recent, there exists considerable differ- 

 ence of opinion as to the most suitable time 

 and best methods of planting. 



Sod planting was the plan adopted by the 

 first cultivators of this vine, and consisted 

 of simply removing sods of wild vines to 

 ground prepared to receive them. Experi 

 once soon taught them, however, that in re- 

 moving the sod thus, they not only planted 

 vines, but also a host of noxious weeds and 

 grasses, which gave them much trouble to 

 extirpate. 



Planting separate vines has been found 

 to be the most effectual plan, and although 

 it consumes more time, and is perhaps at- 

 tended with rather more expense than sod 

 planting, yet from the absence of weeds and 

 the fine chance for the vines to spread, the 

 cultivator finds himself amply repaid for the 

 increased outlay. 



Cutting-planting has been adopted by 

 some as the most economical plan ; and as 

 the plant sends out long runners, sometimes 



I to the length of five or six feet, it is self-ev- 

 ident that the first cost of the cuttings must 

 be small. The cutting should bo about six 

 or eight inches long, and should be planted 

 by thrusting the middle into the earth with 

 a dibble, permitting a few inches of each end 

 projecting, so that when it takes root you 

 have two plants instead of one. 



Another plan of propagating by cuttings, 

 is to cut the vines into pieces of about two 

 inches in length, for which purpose a com- 

 mon hay-cutter may be used, and sowing 

 them broadcast on the ground prepared for 

 them, and then harrowing them in as you 

 would wheat or rye. Or, and I think it 

 preferable, planting them in drills at such 

 distances as will permit cultivation with the 

 plow, for the first two years. These small 

 cuttings will soon take root from the point 

 where the root joins the stem, and will send 

 out runners the secoudyear after planting. 



Thr distance of planting must be regarded 

 by the nature of the soil ; If liable to weeds 

 you must give yourself room to work among 

 the vines; but if you are planting on plain 

 beach sand, the closer your plants are the 

 better, for the great object in forming a 

 cranberry yard Is to have the entire suraface 

 covered by a thick mat of vines as soon as 

 possible. 



The time of planting generally adopted, is 

 in the spring, as in this case the roots are 

 not so liable to be thrown out by the winter 

 frosts ; say from the fifteenth of April to the 

 first of June. 



There seems to be many and adverse 

 opinions as to the proper location of cran- 

 berry yards, but it seems to me the nearer 

 we approach to the examples given us by 

 Nature, the nearer will we be right. 



Many efforts have been made to cultivate 

 the cranberry economically on uplands, but 

 80 far as my observation extends, without 

 success ; for where there is an absence of a 

 plentiful supply of water during the sutcmer 

 the vines die. 



Meadow lands, which are low and moist, 

 free from stagnant water, and somewhat 

 sheltered from storms, may be considered the 

 best locations. . - ! 



A position where the yard can be flooded 

 in winter is very desirable, as the vines, 

 when exposed to very severe weather, are li- 

 able to be winter killed down as loAv as the 

 roots, which throws them back In bearing for 

 a year; besides which It Is sometimes desi- 

 rable to flood them during the season to pre- 

 vent the attack of the worm, which in some 

 localities is quite destructive. 



An acre of vines, properly cultivated and 

 well matted, will produce at least two hun- 

 dred and fifty bushels of berries ; in some in- 

 stances a yield of four hundred bushels per 

 acre has been obtained, but this is above the 

 average, and may not be relied on. 



Two hundred and fifty bushels of berries, 

 at the lowest price of three dollars per bush- 

 el, gives us seven hundred and fifty dollars 

 as the product of one acre, which I think 

 will compare very favorably with even a Cal- 

 ifornia gold mine, and will I hope induce 

 many of your intelligent readers to make a 

 visit to New Jersc}^, where there are large 

 tracts admirably, suited for its cultivation, on 

 which are growing wild vines enough to 

 ptock a country. 



White Beans. 

 Editor op the Farmer : 



The information and instruction furnished 

 by the Illinois Farmer are generally of a 

 practical and always of a reliable charac- 

 ter. In this respect, it very materially dif- 

 fers from some of its quite fashionable and 

 very numerous cotemporaries ; hence its 

 great service in promoting the agricultural 

 interests of our State. 



The western farmer, with extremely few 

 exceptions, does not need an extended gram- 

 matically elaborated, and finely spun theory 

 upon the production of any of the great sta- 

 ples to which he looks for the support of 

 himself, his family, and the government that 

 protects him. That knowledge which waa 

 gained by experience, and is communicated 

 to us in plain, brief English, is just what at 

 all times we need, and will gladly receive. 

 The admirable premium essay on sheep, in 

 your last number, is a fine illustration of the 

 idea I suggest. That article is so very sen- 

 sible, so absolutely free from twaddle and 

 highfalutin, that one who never saw a sheep, 

 could not read It without bec<»mlng interes- 

 ted in the subject of which it treats. So, 

 also, the good-natured scolding of " JNIehita- 

 bel." Alas! how true are her charges. 

 Yes, madam, we acknowledge, the yoke, the 

 chips, the stovepipe, the boots, shoes and 

 crockery — and more ; we confess, that many 

 a " three hours" have been thrown away in 

 leaning against a fence, or sitting upon a 

 stump, talking with an incidental passer or 

 caller, about the election of Douglas, the gold 

 of Pike's Peak, or the polygamy of the Mor- 

 mons. And we may as well confess that too 

 many of us are in the habit of wasting twice 

 three hours in town, or at our country stores 

 on Saturdays, when one hour in most cases 

 would be all sufiiclent for the transaction of 

 our actual business. The fact Is, my dear 

 Mrs. M., the men — deny it as we may — are 

 just as fond of gossip as are the women. 



Well, methinks, would it be for our cul- 

 tivators, had they adopted and carried out 

 the opinion of your excellent correspondent, 

 " Homo." His opinions are so clearly ex- 

 pressed that they cannot be misunderstood. 

 I believe in small farms for tillage. My 

 faith, however, may be remotely connected 

 with my inability to own a large one. Be 

 this as it may, one thing is true, that my 

 farm of just twenty acres, eight of which are 

 occupied by orchards, garden, house, bam, 

 and lawn, does keep me provokingly busy. 

 And another thing is true, that I have been 

 selling corn to some other farmers, whose 

 farms are each six times as big as mine, at 

 f)5, 75 and 85 cents, at my crib, and have 

 still a good supply on hand. 



It is my opinion that a large portion of the 

 products or profits of a big farm, often disap- 

 pear through the wastefulness and down the 

 throats of hired men, and hungry horses. 



But, Mr. Editor, my real intention In wri- 

 ting you on this occasion was to ask Mr. 

 "Bean Hill" for a little more instruction 

 about bean planting. In his article he omit- 

 ted to state the time when they should be 

 put in the ground. This I would like to 

 know, for I have a piece of land sloping west 

 that I wish to plant with beans. Will he 

 also inform us how we are to know the dif- 

 ferent sorts he mentions? I bought one- 



