The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-09-18
The New Cranberry Culture.
To the Editor of the Press:

-~~oNN~Ne
had published short article on my mode of
cranberry culture Contributed unknown to
mel you requested me to write out my ex-
perience more definitely and more fully.
Having secured patents on my method will
do SO. My ground was worn out meadow,
having borne but one third of ton of poor
hay per acre yearly for the last twenty years.
1t had mucky soil six or seven inches deep,
which disposed of by putting it into wind
rows p rods apart from centre to centre, as
I thought it not just the thing for the berries,
though the vines would grow we'll in it. l
planted in the subsoil which consists of grey
sand, and yields, in some places that are well
covered with vines, from one to two bushels
to the square rod. My mode of disposing of
the soil may be useful to some, so give it
for what it is worth.
Get an old mill saw of good metal, cut it
into pieces 20 inches long, grind ten inches
OF the backs of each piece sharp, and drill
two bolt-holes six inches apart in the other
end of each blade. Next make machine
similar in form to a common hand rake and
large enough for two horses, and have a
seat upon it to ride, then secure five
pieces of hard wood plank to the head
of the machine in such a position that they
shall project ten inches behind it, with a
downward inclination such that they may
drag upon the ground and raise the head
from the ground. These may be one foot
apart and upon them the blades above men,
toned may be bolted at an angle with the
ground of about $50. Now attach your
horses and drive to one corner of your lot,
get upon the seat and drive back and forth
till you have cnt all the soil upon it into
strips one foot wide, and as long as your lot,
without moving it from lis place. In turning
at the ends step off and the horses will draw
the blades out of the ground by reason of
their upward inclination, when with care you
can turn without breaking them.
Have good mill file and keep well sharp
ened. Next take plow suitable in size for
your horses, take off its cutter and wheel,
and little back of the place of the latter,
bolt piece of hardwood plank, letting it ex-
tend down so low as to act as gauge in-
stead of the wheel. Upon this, bolt one of
the blades of the machine already described,
and at the same angle of $50, letting it pro-
ject backward to within three inches of the
plow point and downward TO level with its
under side. Procure a plow point so soft it
may be drilled and rivet upon its under side
a strip OF cast steel plate 2 or 2l inches wide
and as long as the wing of the point, letting
its edges project forward beyond the edge of
the wing "a of an inch, and grind it sharp
to cut off the tough, vertical roots, which
sometimes look and cling like tarred strings.
Having determined the distance of your
windrows, say q or 8 rods from center to
center, put up rows of small sticks (not
stakes) where the. bases are TO be, and back
furrow five times around each base, leaving
five or six feet unplowed to be covered by the
windrow. These must run at right angles
with the direction the sod has been cut. If
you examine the furrows plowed you will find
them to consist of detached sods one foot
long and as wide as the furrows, and if
plowed SO fine as to cut off all the vertical
roots they may be very easily handled.
Through tough meadow grass roots two
horses will draw this plow, when sharp, if
the sod has been well cross cut with the ma
chine, quite as easily as six oxen can the same
plow before it was changed, being the differ
ence between cutting and tearing that kind of
roots mainly. The furrow consisting of de-
tached sods offers less resistance to the fur
rowboard than 1t otherwise would. Attach
an OK shovel or scraper to rocker upon
pair of wagon wheels with long axle, so as
to turn about easily, and drive across the lot
as you would to rake hay into windrows of
the same direction.
Hitch the scraper under the five burrows of
the first windrow and move them their big
ness aud dump them upon the base, pass
over the next five burrows, and the two rods
of unplowed grass ground, till you come to
the first five furrows of the second windrow;
move them to its base and dump, passing on
as before, till you cross the lot, then turn and
come back in the same track, dumping each
five furrows you left before upon those you
had already dumped, and so continue till you
have gone over the whole lot, which will then
consist of partly formed windrows of ten fur
rows each. From the intervening grass
ground back furrow five bouts more, and
proceed as before, till you finish. By blowing
only enough for one scraperful at once you
avoid treading down toe sods before they are
to be removed, and also have an open furrow
in which to set the scraper to be filed.
nv Iot hoe 10 xp;ndrou,s o;p;nx 10 l,ol.
each, having an inlet and an outlet of its
own, the inlets connecting with my reservoir,
and the outlets with main ditch running to
and under my cranberry house.
When wish to harvest a bed open its
inlet and flood it, just covering all its vines;
this inver's every berry and raises it to, or as
near the surface as the length of its stem will
permit, while the vines do not rise, thus
allowing the berries to be freed without tear
ing the vines, when they will instantly rise
upon the surface. After the berries upon
bed are freed from the vines all that have not
passed to their place OF destination by the
current, are doomed toward the outlet into
the main ditch and the current takes them to
the cranberry house leaving no scattering
ones by the wayside, by reason Of anchored
floats that keep them in its center. My float
ing boom is made thus: Take a board II in
ches thick, or 10 inches wide and 80 feet
long for the main part; within say feet of
each end of this, attach a piece of inch
board or 10 inches wide aud 8 or feet
long, at an angle of 45a with the main part,
and keep each in place by a brace passing to
it from the end of the main part. This gives
the boom when in use the appearance of adj
vancing with outstretched arms to gather
the berries. These arms are to be heavy
enough to hold the main part of the loom up
edgewise, and are themselves in that position.
Attach rope with loop to each arm of the
boom to draw it Uy and let two men throw
the same over their shoulders and walk
| abreast down the opposite sides of the bed,
drawing the boom between them. Each man
as he moves along will carry shovel or
scoop in his hands, with which he will drive
| the berries toward the centre of the bed by
wavelets made to flow in that direction. II
LII