THJC CRANBERRY. 
28 1 
CHAPTER XIV. 
THE CRANBERRY. 
Oxy coccus, Arb. Brit. Ericacece, of botanists. 
Airelle , of the French ; Die Moosebeere, German ; Veen lessen, Dutch 
Ossicocco, Italian. 
The Cranberry is a familiar trailing shrub growing wild ir. 
swampy, sandy meadows, and mossy bogs, in the northern por- 
tions of both hemispheres, and produces a round, red, acid fruit, 
Our native species, ( 0 macrocarpus ,) so common in the swamps 
of New-England, and on the borders of our inland lakes, as to 
form quite an article of commerce, is much the largest and finest 
species; the European Cranberry, (0. palustris,) being much 
smaller in its growth, and producing fruit inferior in size and 
quality. Also the Russian, ( 0. viridis ,) a medium sized variety, 
Of the 0. macrocarpus , there are three varieties The 
“ Bell-shaped,” which is the largest and most valued, of a very 
dark, bright red colour. The u Cherry,” two kinds, large and 
small ; the large one the best, of a round form, a fine, dark 
red berry, nearly or quite equal to the Bell-shaped ; and the 
Bugle, Oval, or Egg-shaped, two kinds, large and small, not so 
high coloured as the Bell and Cherry — not so much orized, but 
still a fine variety. 
The value of the common cranberry for tarts, preserves and 
other culinary uses, is well known, and in portions of the country 
where it does not naturally grow, or is not abundantly produced, 
it is quite worth while to attempt its culture. Although, natu- 
rally, it grows mostly in mossy, wet land, yet it may be easily 
cultivated in beds of peat soil, made in any rather moist situation, 
and if a third of old thoroughly decayed manure is added to the 
peat, the berries will be much larger and of more agreeable fla- 
vour than the wild ones. A square of the size of twenty feet, 
planted in this way, will yield three or four bushels annually — 
quite sufficient for a family. The plants are easily procured, 
and are generally taken up like squares of sod or turf, and 
planted two or three feet apart, when they quickly cover the 
whole beds. 
In some parts of New-England, low and coarse meadows, of 
no value, have been drained and turned to very profitable account, 
by planting them with this fruit. The average product is from 
eighty to one hundred bushels of cranberries, worth at least one 
dollar a bushel, and the care they require after the land is once 
