8 BULLETIlSr 960, V. S. DEPABTMEliJ'T OF AGEICULTUEE. 



Table III. — Keeping quality of cranberries of the same variety harvested by the wet and 

 dry methods from the same marsh, commercially handled, in 1918. 



Variety. 



Where examined. 



Date examined. 



Spoiled berries (per 

 cent). 



Water- 

 raked. 



Dry- 

 raked. 



Dry- 

 picked. 



Metallic Bell 



Chicago, 111 



Nov. 27... 



20 

 14 

 32 

 22 



8 

 8 

 11 





Do 



... .do 



Dec. 3... 





Do . 



.do 



Dee. 7 . . 





Searls 



Minneapolis, Minn 



Dec. 9, 10, andil 



10 







To furnish a basis for a comparison more accurate than that shown 

 in Table III, a special effort was made in 1920 to obtain a fair com- 

 parison of dry-raked and dry-picked cranberries with water-raked 

 berries handled in different ways. The berries used in the various 

 comparative tests were of the same variety and were gathered from 

 the same sections of the marsh. The harvesting, drying, storing, and 

 packing were all done under the close observation of one of the writers, 

 and careful note was taken of the length of time the berries were 

 submerged and the time occupied by the various lots in drying. 



Because of the importance of weather conditions in drying water- 

 raked cranberries, the weather data for the period during which the 

 harvesting tests were carried on are presented in Table IV. These 

 data were taken with standard instruments of the United States 

 Weather Bureau by the local observer, Mr. C. L. Lewis, jr. 



Table IV. — Weather data at Beaver Brook, Wis., from September 14 to October 2, 1920. 



Date. 



Temperature 

 (° F.). 



Precipi- 

 tation 

 (inches). 



Frost. 



Date. 



Temperature 

 (° F.). 



Precipi- 

 tation 

 (inches). 



Frost. 



Maxi- 

 mum. 



Mini- 

 mum. 



Maxi- 

 mum. 



Mini- 

 mum. 



September 14 

 September 15 

 September 16 

 September 17 

 September 18 

 September 19 

 September 20 

 September 21 

 September 22 



84 

 77 

 74 

 86 

 76 

 54 

 70 

 79 

 81 



60 



45 

 48 

 47 

 41 

 42 

 51 

 54 

 63 







September 23 

 September 24 

 September 25 

 September 26 

 September 27 

 September 28 

 September 29 

 September 30 

 October 1 



75 

 74 

 86 

 72 

 70 

 53 

 48 

 52 

 60 



63 



50 

 56 

 38 

 40 

 32 

 28 

 23 

 28 



0.10 











.01 









L13 

 .03 

 .23 









Light. 



.02 



Heavy. 

 Do. 







Do. 









Up to September 18 the weather was particularly favorable for 

 drying water-raked berries. Not only was it warm and dry, but 

 there was a strong wind. Wet berries placed in the drying crates at 

 10 a. m. were dry to the touch at 5 p. m. It is, then, not surprising 

 that under these conditions the best results were obtained. 



Most of the experiments were made with berries from the marsh at 

 Beaver Brook, Wis. This locality is especially favorable for the work, 



