THE CRANBERRY. 



383 



Soil. 



The best soil and situation consist of peat and muck bottoms, 

 coated with pure sand obtained from adjacent banks, and the 

 ground thus prepared must be capable of being flooded with 

 clear running water at pleasure during winter, and thoroughly- 

 drained at other times, for it is absolutely essential that it 

 should be dry during the blooming and growing season. Drift 

 soils have proved unsuc- 

 cessful. Muddy water run- 

 ning over the plants injures 

 them. 



In preparing the soil all 

 wood and rubbish must be 

 cleared off, called " turfing," 

 and the surface, or " turf," 

 removed with a hoe made 

 for the purpose. It is then 

 provided with drains by 

 clearing out the main water- 

 course and making parallel 

 open side ditches at regular distances of about two to five 

 rods. The whole surface is then covered with from four to 

 six inches of pure sand. The chief object of this coating of 

 sand is to retard the growth of the vines and thus increase 

 their productiveness. An embankment or small dyke should 

 surround the whole to allow the plantation to be flooded or 

 drained at pleasure. 



Setting the plants. After sanding, the plants are set in rows 

 about two feet apart. Some prefer a greater distance, to ad- 

 mit more freely the passage of a horse cultivator. They 

 should be ten or twelve inches in the row. 



Flooding should be continued at intervals from December to 

 May, and furnishes, among other advantages, protection from 

 insects as well as from early frosts. 



The plantation should be carefully kept clear of weeds for 

 the first two or three years, after which, if well managed, the 

 cranberry plants will cover the surface and render this labor 

 comparatively light. 



Fig. 522. — Bugle Cranberry. 



