2 BULLETIN 334, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



forming period of summer and autumn or, when growing in perma- 

 nently submerged places, they build up a hummock or a cushion of 

 moss which rises above the summer water level and within which the 

 feeding roots of the bush are closely interlaced. In actual culture, 

 moreover, it has been found that the swamp blueberry does not thrive 

 in a permanently wet or soggy soil. 



Although some species of Vaccinium, such as the common low- 

 bush blueberry of the northeastern United States, V. angustifolium 

 (called V. pennsylvanicum by some authors) , grow and fruit abun- 

 dantly in sandy uplands that are subject to drought, the swamp blue- 

 berry grows best in soils naturally or artificially supplied with 

 adequate moisture. 



These, then, are the three fundamental requirements of successful 

 blueberry culture: (1) An acid soil, especially one composed of peat 

 and sand; (2) good drainage and thorough aeration of the surface 

 soil; and (3) permanent but moderate soil moisture. Under such 

 conditions the beneficial root fungus which is believed to be essential 

 to the nutrition of the plant need give the cultivator no concern, for 

 even if the necessary fungus were wholly lacking in the soil of the 

 new plantation each healthy bush set out in it would bring its own 

 supply of soil-inoculation material. 



Next in importance to soil conditions is a convenient location with 

 reference to a good market. The berries should reach their destina- 

 tion without delay, preferably early in the morning following the 

 day of picking. To secure the best prices they should also reach the 

 market about the beginning of the main wild-blueberry season. A 

 situation to the south of the great areas of wild blueberries in north- 

 ern New England, Canada, and northern Michigan is therefore de- 

 sirable. One of the most promising districts for blueberry culture 

 is the cranberry region of New Jersey, for there an ideal soil occurs 

 in conjunction with an early maturing season and excellent shipping 

 facilities to the markets of Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. 



Situations liable to late spring freezes, such as the bottoms of 

 valleys, should be avoided, for while the blueberry plant itself is 

 seldom injured by freezing, its crop of fruit is often destroyed in 

 this way. 



In seasons in which the wild crop of upland blueberries has been 

 destroyed by late spring freezes, it has been observed that in or 

 around bodies of water, such as cranberry reservoirs or cranberry 

 bogs temporarily flooded to prevent frost or insect injury, the wild 

 bushes often produce normal crops of blueberries. It may be found 

 that provisions for flooding blueberry plantations will save a crop 

 often enough to warrant the installation of flooding equipment. In 

 locating a blueberry plantation, therefore, it would be well to choose 

 a situation that could be flooded, if flooding proved later to be com- 

 mercially advantageous. 



