ESSAY

ON THE CULTIVATION OF CRANBERRIES.

BY NATHAN PAGE, JR.

The first thing necessary for a novice in the art of Cranberry growing, if he intends to engage in that business, is to learn what has already been done by others. It is quite too expensive for a man of ordinary means to attempt a new business without first informing himself in regard to it. A wealthy man can, if he chooses, proceed ignorantly, and bear, without injury, the ill success that he is quite likely to meet with. A poor man most certainly eannot afford such risks. He needs to be reasonably sure of success-not a partial, but a paying success. Most men desire good and profitable results from their labors, whatever their necessities may be.

One most excellent way to get information, is to visit the grounds of other cultivators. To inexperienced persons I would say:-You can learn in six days' time, spent with successful cranberry growers of different places, many important facts that it might cost you six years of experimenting to obtain. You should see the different situations in which cranberries flourish, and the various soils on which they succeed, that you may be able to judge intelligently of the value of your own grounds for cranberry growing. You should see which, of all cultivated vines, are the most hardy and prolific. You should compare the qualities of different varieties, and learn which is best, and which would be most profitable for growing. in the soil and situation at your command. But you should particularly observe the various modes of cultivation, and note the cost and the comparative success. If you would get the most valuable information on any branch of agriculture, ask it

of him who has made the study and practice of that his special business.

It is possible to grow cranberries on almost any kind of soil. Probably there is not a farm under cultivation in all New England, on which cranberry vines cannot be made to flourish and to produce more or less fruit. But there are two kinds of soil on which it will pay to cultivate this valuable fruit. Clean, moist sand, and wet meadow or bog soils are most suitable. In Essex County there are many hundreds of acres of wet meadow lands, that now produce only small crops of poor grass, and worthless crops of moss and weeds. Such soil is excellent for cranberries. Indeed, cranberries of many varieties, and of good quality, grow spontaneously along the borders and elsewhere on these meadows in all parts of the county. Thus, we have suitable lands; we have good vines; the crop can be profitably grown; there is no reason why we should not succeed in this comparatively new branch of agriculture. I will note some points that may be of value to beginners. First,

SELECT GROUND THAT CAN BE OVERFLOWED.

This is essential to the best success. On all meadow, bog or peaty soils, the vines should be covered with water, from twelve to twenty inches deep in winter. This is especially important where the vines are kept free from moss, as they should be. A more shallow depth of water is not so good, for it is liable to become frozen quite through in extreme cold weather. In that case the ice might seriously injure the vines. On some peculiar sandy soils, cranberry vines will do very well without winter flooding. But in our severe climate, they are in all cases much the better for such winter protection. There are other benefits and very important ones-to be derived from the use of facilities for overflowing. The prevention of injury by spring frost, is one; the destruction of the cranberry worm is another. I may allude to these in another place. Another point is, to

MAKE THE GROUND CLEAN.

Clear off all bushes and rubbish, and take off the turf to such depth that sedge grass and weeds will not spring up from their roots and grow again. The value of this turf, when piled and rotted, or composted, as a dressing for uplands, is usually greater than the cost of clearing it off and hauling. But if it were of no value, its removal is a work that should be done before planting the vines. The surface of the ground must be made smooth, and should be nearly level. A very slight inclination towards the drains is often useful, but is not absolutely essential if the soil is sufficiently porous. If the ground is all nearly at one level, the water may be kept at just the right height to give the needed moisture to the whole field of vines. This is important, especially in dry seasons.

DRAINING

Is often required to bring meadows into a workable condition. One leading drain or open ditch, with a free outlet, is always needed in such lands.

A few side ditches, leading to the central one, are usually necessary. Sometimes an outside drain is wanted along the borders of the meadow, to cut off the flow of water from the higher lands around. Very cold water should be kept from the vines in summer and autumn. It is injurious to the vines, and retards the growth and the ripening of the fruit. If a dam is built to overflow the ground in winter, the outlet through it, at the end of the principal drain, should be made low enough to take off the water to the bottom of that drain, or to the depth of thirty inches or more from the surface.

Apertures made through the gate at various heights, may be opened or closed so as to completely control the depth, or rather height, of water in the drains. This ability to regulate the flow of water, will often make the difference between a large crop of nice fruit, and a small and every way inferior crop.

WHEREVER IT IS POSSIBLE COVER THE GROUND WITH SAND.

Clean, coarse sand is best. If the soil is covered only two inches in depth. with sand, it will be of great service; but three or four inches deep would be still better. A thick layer of sand will keep down most kinds of weeds, and prevent grass from growing among the vines. Some men have made cranberry culture profitable, where it required the constant labor of one man three or four months of the warm season to keep half an acre of vines clear of weeds: but it is far better to spend a month or two to prevent weeds from growing. Cranberries have been sold at such high prices for a few years past that almost every method of culture has been profitable. Even the worst modes have paid fair dividends on the cost; but the best alone are to be recommended. Skilful culture may yet make cranberry growing profitable, even if the fruit should sell for something less than one dollar per bushel. Where no sand can be obtained, gravel may be spread on the meadow after the turf has been removed. The less loam the gravel contains, the better. It should not be spread on in very great quantities, for it is not so suitable as sand for the vines to grow in. A thin layer of about an inch, is, in some cases, better than more.

THE BEST TIME TO SET THE VINES IS SPRING.

Cultivators who have vines always at hand on their own. grounds, frequently plant them out when it is most convenient, either in May and June, or September, October and November. If set in autumn, which in many cases is most convenient, the earlier it is done the better. Vines that are set in September become well established before winter, and will throw out most vigorous runners the next season. The vines should be

SELECTED

In autumn, while the fruit is on them.

You may be certain,

then, of getting only fruitful vines. It is said that vines taken up in autumn, and kept in a cellar till spring, have been plant

ed with good success.

Cool and moist is the rule for keeping

them. But it is much less trouble, usually, and a much better way to take up the vines near the time of setting.

PLANTING THE VINES.

When plenty of vines are to be had near by, and growing in a clean soil, masses of roots and earth, six inches in width and one foot in length, may be taken up and set in rows two feet apart and at eighteen inches distance, from sod to sod, in the rows. Some prefer setting narrow strips, or cuttings of cranberry sod, quite close together, and in rows about fifteen inches apart. Sods containing grass weeds or moss should never be planted on grounds that are to be cultivated. The vine roots in such sods must be separated, and, after the grass is removed, they may be set from six to ten inches apart along drills eighteen inches apart. This is the most common mode, and the most suitable under various circumstances. Slips of vines or cuttings, three or four inches long, are sometimes used instead of rooted plants. These may be set closely in drills, and sloping in one direction along the row, the lower ends being covered about an inch deep, or more if the soil is not quite moist. It is said that cuttings, five or six inches long, if bent downwards in the middle and covered an inch deep with soil, will root quickly and send shoots from each end. The method is worth trying. Cranberry vines take root so readily in favorable soils, that, if sown broadcast, and tramped or harrowed in, they will grow pretty well. But such methods cannot be recommended where the best culture is to be given.

HOEING AND WEEDING

Must be attended to, if the ground requires it. These are difficult operations after the runners spread over the surface and take root. They should be disturbed as little as may be consistent with clean culture. A man who has weeded cranberry vines two or three seasons, will understand the importance of taking off a few inches of the top soil of meadows, and