366 
WISCONSIN STATS AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
tobacco land. Manure is prerequisite to success in raising tobacco, corn or 
any other crop, and if the tobacco lot robs the corn field, its place must be 
supplied with clover or some other fertilizer. 
Respectfully yours, M. II. SOVERHILL. 
RALPH POMEROY. 
Fulton, Wis., March, 1871. 
CRANBERRY CULTURE. 
Dr. J. W. Hoyt, Secretary Wisconsin State Agricultural Society: 
Dear Sir: —I am not prepared to give a very complete or satisfactory ac¬ 
count of the method, or the extent of the cultivation of the cranberry in this 
section, owing to my limited knowledge and information on the subject; 
but the main facts that have come under my observation, or which I have 
learned by experience, I will note down for the benefit or gratification of 
those who are interested in this subject. 
There has been but very little actual cultivation of the cranberry with 
us; in fact the whole question as to the best method of culture remains yet 
to be determined by time and experiment. We have no guide, no rules, 
and but little experience in the business. We cannot avail ourselves of the 
methods in practice by eastern plantations, for in many respects they are 
not applicable. In some instances vines have been planted, and have done 
well; new beds have been set out, and old fields, where the vines were thin 
and weak, have been stocked anew and are paying well. Those setting out 
plants, select a soft marsh, where there is but little grass or brush, for it 
is in such soil that the berry thrives best. Land where the hard subsoil 
comes near the surface is not suitable. Vines are pulled or broken off 
from the old plants, and cut up into slips from six to ten inches in length; 
these pieces are laid on the ground, where the hills are desired, and the 
middle is crowded down with a stick into the soft ground, leaving the two 
ends out. Two or three inches in the ground is sufficient, as the slips take 
root very readily in any part. The vines are usually set in hills three feet 
apart each way, and from one to four slips in a hill. They grow very rapid¬ 
ly, and soon take full possession of the ground. 
Although but few new plantations have been started, much has been 
done to improve the original fields. These, ten years ago, were in their 
natural state, the vines thin and feeble in their growth, were scattered over 
the marshes. The fields that are now the most productive, then yielded but 
small and uncertain crops. The producing capacity of the best fields is 
steadily increasing, but it is still far below what it should be. I consider one 
hundred bushels to the acre a moderate yield. The improvements made, 
consist principally, of draining the marshes, and constructing a system of 
drains and ditches, by means of which the vines can be flooded. Drainage 
