BULLETIN No. 960 
Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 
Washington, D. C. Vv | August 15, 1921 
THE RELATION OF WATER-RAKING TO THE 
KEEPING QUALITY OF CRANBERRIES. 
By New E. Stevens, Pathologist, and H. ¥. Bereman, formerly uate Assistant, 
Fruit-Disease Investigations. 
CONTENTS. 
Page Page 
Methods of harvesting cranberries........... LP Oxycen content ofuhenwaten. a se ose eee 5 
Storage conditions............---.-- ate 2b a 2 | Oxygen content of waters used in flooding 
Present practice in water-raking............- 3 cranberry marshes in Wisconsin..........-. 6 
Important factors in drying cranberries. ..... 3 | Experimental tests of the moe ge of 
Injury during submergence...........-..---- 4 water-raked cranberries. ....-..22..2--...- ¥ 
Age of the berry at the time of submer- Summary ye ae Oe Ie ies cl gee 11 
POMC B eee tennant sean wus ae wetel eral AP ETaChicaliSMEZestIOMGM yi yea ns neuen ae aeL ll 
Temperature of the water...........---- 5) |) literature cited) . QiAJIIA LY eer ee: 12 
METHODS OF HARVESTING CRANBERRIES. 
‘| GREATER PART of the cranberry crop of the United States 
is harvested dry, being either picked by hand or gathered by 
scoops or rakes of various designs. Most growers, indeed, take great 
care not to allow the berries to be picked when wet with dew. The 
practice of water-raking—that is, of flooding the bog and raking off 
the berries as they float on or near the surface of the water—has, 
however, developed to some extent in Wisconsin and has given rise to 
so much discussion as to its effect on the keeping quality of the fruit 
that the question has been made the subject of a special investiga- 
tion by the writers. 
The present bulletin, which deals with the water-raking problem 
only in its relation to the keeping quality of the fruit, is based on 
investigational work in Wisconsin extending over three seasons. In 
1918 a general study was made of harvesting methods and conditions 
throughout the cranberry regions of the State, and Wisconsin berries 
were followed through the storage season in the markets of Minne- 
apolis and Chicago. In 1919 attention was confined chiefly to a 
48310°—21—Bull. 960 
