392 



CRANBERRY 



1887 



New England.... 307,563 260,000 



New Jersey 163,788 225,000 



The West 140,672 100,000 



1839 

 350,000 

 200,000 



70,000 



1890 

 375,000 

 200,000 

 225,000 



1891 

 480,000 

 250,000 



30,000 



Totals 612,023 585,000 620,000 800,000 760,000 



1892 1893 



New England.... 375,000 675.000 



New Jersey 160,000 325,000 



TheWest 65,000 100,000 



1894 

 185,000 

 200,000 



25,000 



1895 

 420,000 

 200,000 



10,000 



1896 

 600,000 

 200,000 



30,000 



Totals 600,000 1,000,000 410,000 650,000 830,000 



1897 

 New England .... 400,000 



New Jersey 250,000 



TheWest 50,000 



425,000 



300,000 



75,000 



425,000 

 175,000 

 86,000 



Totals 700,000 800,000 685,000 



Average prices for Cranberries of good quality now 

 range from $4.50 to $6 per barrel. The following table 

 (by Rider) gives a summary of " opening " and " closing " 

 prices per bushel for 18 Cranberry seasons: 



The Low-bush Cranberry, or Wolfberry {V. Vitis- 

 Idcea ) , is much used in Nova Scotia and other parts, and 

 is gathered and shipped in large quantities to Boston ; 

 but it is not cultivated. This berry is also common in 

 Europe, where it is much prized. The quantities of this 

 fruit imported into theU. S. from various sources is con- 

 siderable. For example, between July 24 and Dec. 31, 

 1897, the following imports were received (as compiled 

 by Eider) : 



Prom Nova Scotia 31,748 ats. ® $1,284 



Sweden and Norway 19,906 ats. ® 1,014 



Newfoundland 7,256 qts. la) 279 



Germany 1,500 qts. ® 180 



Denmark 864 qts. ® 27 



61,273 qts. $2,784 

 or 1,915 bn. 



The Cranberry is subject to the attacks of various 

 insects, for most of which the best remedy is flooding, 

 although the fruit-worm is probably best destroyed by 

 spraying with arsenites. There are also fungous troubles. 

 For information on all these difficulties, the bulletins 

 of the New Jersey Experiment Station are the best 

 literature. 



The best literature on the Cranberry is comprised in 

 the Proceedings of the American Cranberry Growers' 

 Association, with headquarters at Trenton, N. J. This 

 society holds an " annual meeting " in January, and an 

 "annual convention" in August. Beginning with 1880, 

 it has published regular reports of each of these gather- 

 ings. The standard books are White's "Cranberry Cul- 

 ture," largely from the New Jersey standpoint, and 

 Webb's "Cape Cod Cranberries." l. jj. B. 



Notes bt a Wisconsin Gbower. — Cranberries are 

 raised mainly in the states of Massachusetts, New Jer- 

 sey, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. The eastern 

 marshes are mostly "made," while in Wisconsin there 

 are thousands of acres of natural marsh as yet entirely 

 uncultivated, as well as much that is cultivated. 



'The natural soil for the Cranberry is peat. Sand is 

 also good, but, when used alone, must have a new coat 

 of it spread over the ground every few years, as it be- 

 comes exhausted and the vines become woody and cease 



CRANBERRY 



to bear. The ideal soil seems to be a foundation of 

 peat, with from 2 to 4 inches of sand spread over It. 

 It is very desirable that the surface should be level, so 

 that it can all be kept equally moist. The leveling is 

 usually done by "scalping," i. e., taking off the sod and 

 carrying it away. This also removes the moss and 

 other foul vegetation, and gives the vines a chance 

 to take full possession of the ground. If scalping is 

 considered too expensive, the moss may be killed by 

 flooding in winter and drawing the water off in spring ; 

 but it takes two or three years for it to rot sufliciently 

 to allow vines to do well. Plowing is sometimes resorted 

 to where it can be done, or the sods turned upside down 

 by some other means. 



The best sites for Cranberry raising are those which 

 afford a perfect water supply. There should be a reser- 

 voir of water on the upper side of the marsh (and if it 

 is on the north or northwest so much the better, as it 

 will then he more sure protection from frost), which can 

 be emptied on to the marsh at short notice ; and there 

 must also be good drainage, to carry it away from the 

 marsh quickly when desired. A level piece of marsh 

 which has vines already growing on it looks very tempt- 

 ing to the uninitiated, but, if it has not a good water 

 supply, it is better to leave it in the natural state and 

 take the crops which grow in favorable seasons, than 

 to spend money improving it. 



A good sand marsh may be made near any stream in 

 a sandy region by selecting a spot where water can be 

 drawn from the stream, but there should also be a reser- 

 voir to hold water in, as that which comes directly from 

 a running stream is sometimes too cold for Cranberries. 



If dams are built from the sods thrown from the 

 ditches, it is desirable, at least for the reservoir dams, 

 to cover them with sand. This should be put mostly on 

 the top and upper side, and should slope from the top of 

 the dam to the center of the ditch. This prevents musk- 

 rats from doing very much damage, and the dam is not 

 so apt to be washed out by high water as when built in 

 a perpendicular wall. The cheapest way to move sand 

 to build dams or for spreading on the marsh is to haul 

 it on sleighs in the winter. A platform is built on rock- 

 ers, so that the load may be dumped at one side of the 

 sleigh ; and two loads in a place on a good peat dam 

 will make a heavy reservoir dam. The pit from which 

 sand is taken should be well protected with snow or 

 sawdust to prevent its freezing badly. One of the best 

 ways of making waste-gates is to place three joists 

 lengthwise of the dam a little below the bottom of the 

 ditch, and a platform built upon them, and the whole 

 settled down as firmly as possible ; then the dam is built 

 right onto the platform for 3 or 4 feet on each side, and 

 then the sideboards put in place, and cleats nailed up 

 and down into which to slip the sluice boards. It is a 

 good plan to have an outside ditch, which will carry sur- 

 plus water around the marsh instead of across it, in wet 

 seasons. 



Planting.— There are several methods of planting 

 vines. One way is to sort the vines and then cut them up, 

 roots and all, in pieces about eight inches in length, lay- 

 ing them down three or four in a place, pushing the lower 

 end into the ground by means of a stick shaped like a 

 paddle ; or it is sometimes done by a piece of iron f ast- 

 enened to the bottom of a shoe. This method leaves 

 the plants in an upright position, and they do not grow so 

 rapidly as when pushed into the ground obliquely or 

 laid on top of the ground, as their first growth is to make 

 runners. Sometimes the vines are cut in a hay cutter, 

 sown by hand like wheat, and then rolled. A good 

 method of planting in the west is to take vines without 

 cutting and drop two or three in a place and step on 

 them ; if put a foot apart, they will soon cover the ground, 

 and will bear a good crop in three years. The greatest 

 care must be taken, while sorting vines, that they do not 

 dry out, for if they do they are worthless. 



In subsequent culture is when water comes into use. 

 The ditches should be about ten rods apart, each ditch 

 having a dam built below it of the material thrown from 

 the ditch ; the drain ditches ruiming down through the 

 marsh need not be quite so close together. To promote 

 the growth of vines, it is only desired to hold the ditches 

 about half full, so that the ground may be moist, but if 

 water is kept up onto vines at this time thev will be 



