THE CRANBEKKT. 



59. 



can be cultivated it is often the most paying crop that can be 

 grown. 



Best Location for Cranberry Beds. — In a wild state this 

 plant is found at its best on moist land where the water level is 

 within .eighteen inches of the surface. It seems to be rather indif- 

 ferent about the soil, sometimes growing on sand and then on peat 

 mud or moss. As a rule the best locations are low meadow lands 

 sloping down to ponds, or watered by brooks or creeks, somewhat 

 sheltered but shaded. On uplands it has been successfully culti- 

 vated, but in such situations it is generally unprofitable and fre- 

 quently an entire failure. It may be laid down as a rule that the 

 soil in which this plant is to thrive must be liberally supplied 

 with water, and yet the land must be so drained that the water 

 can at will be drawn off to at least ten inches below the surface. 

 The best cranberry bogs are so arranged that both the flowage and 

 drainage can be controlled • at will. Land that has been covered 

 with stagnant water for a long time, as the bottom of ponds, is not 

 fit for the growth of this plant until it has been cultivated and ex- 

 posed to the air for a year or more. 



Soil Adapted to It. — Wherever the cranberry is growing 

 naturally one may be sure that the land near by is adapted to its 

 culture. If no wild plants are growing near the supposed proper 

 location it is a safe and good plan to plant a few rods of the most 

 favorable portion of it as an experiment before spending much 

 time or money on improvements which may prove to be futile. 

 With a bog adapted to the growing of this plant, with control of 

 the drainage and fiowage, a good crop of fruit is assured for almost 

 every year, if the work of preparation is properly done. Yet there 

 are many wild and cultivated bogs that have yielded very profit- 

 able crops for many years where the flowage has not been con- 

 trolled, and hence if that factor cannot be directed at will is not 

 necessarily a sufficient reason why an attempt should not be made 

 to plant suitable land, providing the work can be done at small 

 cost. The returns from natural cranberry bogs may often be 

 greatly increased by a little judicious expenditure. 



Preparation of the Land. — The first steps should be di- 

 rected to destroying the vegetation growing on the land. The 

 proper method of doingthis will vary according to the location and 

 condition of the land. It can sometimes be done by flooding the 

 land for one year and then clearing it, or by summer fallowing, 

 and it may occasionally pay to cut oft the whole surface of the bog, 

 with spade or turf ax, and remove it by hand. But in some way 

 the surface of the ,land must be cleaned of its growth and made 

 level, and fine and perfect as a garden. If it is to be flowed it 

 should be made perfectly level, as it will then take much less water 

 for fiowage than if uneven. This matter is especially important 

 where the water supply is limited. 



Supplying Sand. — It is of great advantage to have the sur- 

 face of the land covered with about four inches of clean sand, and 



