I2fi MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION*. IQOI. 



The land is divided into several tracts, each of which is leased 

 to some responsible part}' who assumes the whole care of burn- 

 ing, keeping off trespassers, harvesting and marketing the fruit. 

 The owner receives, as rental, one-half cent per quart for all the 

 fruit gathered. 



The pickers receive from one and a half to three cents per 

 quart ; those who lease the land and haul the fruit to the canning 

 factory, or to the station for shipment, one-half to one cent per 

 quart, — the rate being determined, in accordance with the 

 market values, by the firm which handles the product. The fruit 

 is all canned or shipped by one firm which keeps a record of the 

 amount as it is brought in, and pays the royalty to the owner. 



Every year a certain section of each "lease" is burned over. 

 This burning must be done very early in the spring, before the 

 soil becomes dry ; otherwise the fire goes too deep, the humus 

 is burned from the ground and most of the. bushes are killed. 

 Many hundred acres on what should be the best part of the 

 "barrens" have thus been ruined. The method most commonly 

 used in burning a given area, is for the operator to pass around 

 the section to be burned, dragging after him an ordinary torch 

 or mill-lamp. He then retraces his steps and follows over the 

 burned area, setting new fires in the portions which have escaped 

 and back-firing if there is danger of spreading unduly over 

 areas which it is desired to leave unburned. A device occasion- 

 ally used consists of a piece of one-half inch gas-pipe, bent at 

 the end at an angle of about 60 degrees. The end opposite the 

 bent portion is closed with a cap or plug, and in the other end, 

 after filling the pipe with kerosene, is placed a plug of cotton 

 waste or tow. This device is by many regarded as superior to 

 the lamp or torch, as it is more easily handled. Each section of 

 the lease is usually burned over every third year. 



By far the largest proportion of the fruit is taken to the fac- 

 tories for canning. Early in the season, however, before the 

 factories are opened, a considerable amount is shipped to the 

 larger cities for use while fresh. This fruit is usually shipped 

 in quart boxes, shown in the figure. The blueberries have an 

 advantage over other small fruits in that, with the exception of 

 currants and gooseberries, they will stand rough handling better, 

 and will keep longer than the others. 



