CRANBERRY CULTURE. 



CHAPTER L 

 NATUBAL HISTORY. 



The Cranberry is supposed to have been so named 

 from the appearance of its bud. Just before expanding 

 into the perfect flower, the stem, calyx and petals resem- 

 ble the neck, head and bill of a crane — hence the name, 

 " craneberiy," or " cranberry." According to botanical 

 classification, the Cranberry belongs to the Natural Order 

 Ericaceae, or Heath Family, and to the genus Vaccinium. 

 Bilberries and -Hrhortleberries also belong to the same 

 genus. There are two species of Cranberry growing 

 within our territory — the Small Cranberry, Vaccinium 

 Oxyeoccus, and the Large, or American Cranberry, Yac- 

 cinium macrocarpon. 



The runners of the V. Oxyeoccus are very slender, 

 being from four to nine inches long. The leaves are about 

 one-fourth of an inch long, ovate, with strongly revolute 

 margins. The Small Cranberry is found in the peat bogs 

 of ISew England and Pennsylvania, and westward to 

 Wisconsin, and northward. 

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