The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-07-27
A CRANBERRY PATCH.

| MANY nave SLudL1 UOSS
which they pick few quarts Or bushels
of cranberries, but they have not faith
enough in the enterprise to spend dol
; lar in improvement. Draining, sanding,
; and blowing pays, and there is hardly an
! investment a farmer can make that pays
half as WELL We have just visited bog
on shore farm in RHODE Island which is
instructive in showing that little i'm
: lprovement pays and that more pays still
better. There is only an acre of it and it
lacks thee capacity of sudden fowage,
though it can be readily flowed in winter
two or three feet deep. When the own
er came into possession few years since
there was small patch of cranberries at
the north end of the bog which had yield.
ed occasional crops but were not of much
account. The owner skinned the rest of
the bog when it was so soft that he had
to draw the cuttings and turf ashore with
rope and pulleys. He procured bar
rel of extra large fruit bearing vines from
Maine, for which he paid fifteen dollars
and cost of transportation. He had not
faith enough in sanding to spread it four
or five inches thick, and SO planted upon
the bare peat. The vines, ofcourse, grew
luxuriantly, and soon began to BEAR The
new vines yielded nearly double quantity
of the old ones, and the owner felt well
paid for his outlay. Last year he gather
ed sixteen barrels from his little patch,
and sold them for $15 each, making $24O
for his crop, more clear profit than he re-
ceived from all the rest of his farm. The
yield, though much beyond that of natu-
raj boys, is very small in comparison with
those which are properly cared for. In
these the yield is sometimes 100 barrels
to the acre, 100 is not unusual under fa-
vorable circumstances, and fifty is about
the average with all the draw backs of
imperfect preparation and ignorance in
management. Now suppose this bog at
the time it was skinned had received a
coating of gravel, which is abundant upon
it's shore and would have cost about $780,;
the yield would have been last fall fifty
barrels at the least, and he would have
realized from the sale of his fruit at the
same price $750-three times as much as
would have been necessary to sand his
bog. Imperfect as the bog is he has been
loffered $4,000 for the acre of land, and
has been wise enough to refuse it, for
he now means to sand and see what that
will do for him. Another improvement
still is needed, more perfect drainage, for
there are no bitches through the main
body of the bog. This is quite as essen
tial as sand, for the best results Another
item of income from his patch is the sale
of vines. These bring about $40 the
square rod, or over $4,000 per acre. Tt is
true vines can be had at two or three dol
lars a barrel, but there is as much differ
ence in cranberry vines as in anything
else and planters, who are wise, will get
the best without economizing on the first
cost. It was good economy for this plan
ter to pay $15 barrel for a variety yield
inc very large berry in a large quantity
Tt was better to do thus than to take the
common kind on his land for nothing
He will make money by the sale of plants,
and if he had enterprise enough to adver-
tise he would make ten times as much.
There is nothing peculiar in the character
or situation of this bog. Many can be
found having equal advantages, and some
th have much deeper peat and better
facilities for fowage. Why should they
not be improved? Why should this bust
ness be so largely in hands of large cap
italists who spend their money freely in
making thorough preparation and reap
very large rewards There is nothing in
the history of this fruit to indicate sur
plus production. 1t is true some large
planters kept their crop until this Spring,
and sold at less than they could have OBJ.
tanned last fall. But this was an error in
judgment in selling, not in growing the
fruit. The average price has been over
$40 per barrel for the last twenty years.
and is not likely to be less for many years
to come.-HeGrth and Home.
" t