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 comitries 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. 



