THE KEEPING QUALITY OF CRANBERRIES. 3 
of New Jersey would have a different effect on the berries than the 
much cooler water of Wisconsin. The results of the experiments 
here described will be useful even to Wisconsin growers only when 
considered in connection with the conditions on their own marshes 
and with their previous experience. 
PRESENT PRACTICE IN WATER-RAKING. 
The usual practice in water-raking is to flood the vines so that the 
cranberries float on or near the surface. They are then harvested 
with rakes much like those used in dry-raking, but usually some- 
what larger and with the teeth longer and farther apart. After the 
berries are harvested they are dried as soon as practicable, usually 
by pouring them into specially made drying crates, which are then 
piled and an empty crate placed on top of the pile to protect the 
berries from the sun. A common type of crate is 24 by 24 inches in 
size by 6 inches deep, with the bottom and two sides made of laths 
spaced to permit the free circulation of air. The crates are usually 
filled one-fourth to one-third full, and an open space is left in the 
middle to increase the ventilation. When the berries are dry they 
are removed to the storehouse. A few growers with large and well- 
ventilated storehouses follow the practice of taking the berries 
directly into the storehouse after they are raked from the water and 
placing them in shallow crates, which are so piled as to permit the 
free circulation of air. | 
If there is injury to berries from water-raking it probably arises 
either from their submergence or in the process of drying. Several 
important factors in each of these processes will be briefly considered. 
IMPORTANT FACTORS IN DRYING CRANBERRIES. 
The universal experience of cranberry growers agrees with the re- 
sults of experiments conducted in Massachusetts and in Maine in 
indicating that it is injurious for cranberries to remain damp for a 
long time in storage (6, p. 122, and 9, p. 9). It is therefore to be 
expected that, other things being equal, the more quickly berries 
are dried after being water-raked the better. The time required 
for drying will depend, first of all, upon the weather and, second, 
upon the way they are handled. The most favorable conditions 
for drying are obviously a good breeze and a low humidity, conditions 
which apparently are somewhat more frequent in Wisconsin (3) 
than in other cranberry regions. 
The weather conditions are, of course, beyond the growers’ con- 
trol. The rate of drying, however, is directly influenced by the 
manner in which the cranberries are handled. Berries will dry much 
more quickly if the drying crates are not filled too full, the grass and 
