424 MANUAL OF GARDENING 
Cranberry. — The growing of cranberries in artificial bogs is an 
American industry. The common large cranberry of markets is also 
a peculiarly American fruit, since it is unknown in other countries ex- 
cept as the fruit is shipped there. 
Cranberries are grown in bogs, which may be flooded. The whole 
area is kept under water during the winter time, largely to prevent the 
plants from winter injury by the heaving and freezing and thawing of 
the bogs. Flooding is also employed at intervals for the purpose of 
drowning out insects, mitigating drought, and protecting against frost 
and fires. The ordinary practice is to choose a bog which has a creek 
running through it, or through which some creek or ditch may be di- 
verted. At the lower side of the bog flood-gates are provided, so that 
when the gates are shut, the water backs up and floods the area. It is 
best that the bog be comparatively flat, so that the water will be of 
approximately equal depth over the whole area. At the shallowest 
places the water should stand about a foot above the plants. The water 
is usually let on the bog early in December and kept on until April or 
early May. No flooding is done during the rest of the year unless there 
is some particular occasion therefor. 
All the wild and turfy growth should be taken off the bog before the 
vines are set. This is done either by digging it off and removing it 
bodily, or by drowning it out by means of a year’s flooding. The former 
method is generally considered to be the better. After the turfy growth 
is removed, the bog is smoothed, and covered 2 or 3 in. deep with clean 
sand. The vines are now set, the lower ends of them being shoved 
through the sand into the richer earth. In order to prevent a too 
rapid and tangled growth of vine, it is customary to resand the bog 
every three or four years to a depth of one-fourth or one-half inch. 
When sanding is not practicable, the vines may be mown off when they 
become too luxuriant. 
The plants for setting are merely cuttings or branches of the vines. 
These cuttings may be 5 to 10 inches long. They are inserted into the 
ground in a hole made by a crowbar or stick. They are usually planted 
at distances of 12 to 18 inches each way, and the vines are allowed 
to cover the entire ground as with a mat. In three years a good crop 
should be secured, if the weeds and wild growth are kept down. A crop 
ranges between 50 to 100 barrels per acre. 
