PRACTICAL PAPERS—CRANBERRY-GROWING. 
309 
CRANBERRY-GROWING IN WISCONSIN. 
BY G. N. SMITH, BERLIN. 
The American cranberry, although a native of many of the 
northern states, has been found to a greater extent in Wis¬ 
consin, or that part of it lying west and north of Fox river, 
than in any other one, or perhaps, all others combined. Here is 
its home; the native vines grow with all the vigor and lux¬ 
uriance of the best cultivated ones of the Atlantic coast; and 
in size of fruit, delicacy of skin and fine color, it stands 
unrivalled. From the first settlement of Berlin it has been 
supplied with the fruit, and in many seasons abundantly. In 
its earliest days the Indians had a monopoly of the business 
of gathering the crop, and realized often, to them large sums 
in the sale. In the year 1859, particularly, the crop was so 
large, tha 1 they were unable to gather the whole of it; but the 
succeeding year being an excessively wet one, the marshes 
were flooded during the warm season, injuring the vines to 
such an extent, as to require two other years for them to recu¬ 
perate and again come into bearing. It was not until the 
marsh was ditched or partially so, and the suplus water taken 
off, that annual crops could be depended on. The first ditch 
was made by the town of Aurora, for the purpose of improv¬ 
ing the grasses along the borders, but the effect was, to so 
increase the growth of the cranberry vines, that a few individu¬ 
als commenced the business of growing them for market in 
the large cities. The portions of land best stocked with vines 
were bought and improved by ditching and building dams for 
draining and flooding at will. The enterprise more than realized 
the expectations of those engaged in it, and all investments in 
this direction never failed to be otherwise than largely rernu 
nerative. 
