The Portland daily press., 1876-10-20

narrow bikes run at right angles towards the
foot of the marsh separating the field into
strips of convenient width which were found
flooded with water, in which were gang OF
men with long-legged rubber boots wadIng and
with wire-toothed 'rakes deity raking off the
bright red berries which foated away on the
surface of the water. The wires of the rakes
were sloped outward in such way
as not to injure the vines, and the
whole crop was released without bruls-
ing the berries. When that work was
accomplished, light boom was placed across
the head of the watery bed, and moved slowly
along driving the crop to the lower end, into
canal in which they 1oated, along with the
current to the southeast corner where they
passed into dume and swept rapidly down
towards the mill, gaily Fastening to meet at
festal Thanksgiving boards thesunsuspectIng
turkeys, innocenty gobblng in their native
farmyards, which fate had predestined for their
affiuities Arrived at the mill, the cranberrles
were carried up in wire buckets on an endless
belt, and rolled out upon screen where they
began sloping journey of thirty feet out into
the sunshine to dry. Here a sorting process
began. A gap is left in the screen over which
the round, solid, ripe berries leaped, while the
soft. pudgy ones pumped into the chasm.
When they reached the end of the upper
screen they fell upon lower one land came
slowly rolling back into the building dried and
assorted. ready to be barreled and sent to mar
ket. Elsewhere cranberries are picked by
hand, which is slow and troublesome pro-
cess losing many among the vines, or by freez-
ing if a sudden frost comes, and having many
bruised in the picking, but by this process Mr..
Gile harvests his crop for twenty cents bal
rel against cost of a dollar and sixty cents
by the usual method. When we are going to
Europe and the older states to learn improved
methods of agriculture, it is gratifying to find
that men are making pilgrimage to our own
state to learn this system and its simplicity and
efficiency cannot fail to completely change the
whole system of cranberry culture, Mr.. Gile ]
has been experimenting for several years to
bring his conception to a realization meeting
with occasional dsappoinuments, as that of 4
one season when the muskrats undermined his
dikes; but he has worked patiently and UNDER
standingly. analyzing his soils, weakening
them with sand when too rich, cutting and
W UriuS his mdCulucry 10 compile.
ton, and now finds himself disappointed only
that his screens seem regardless of color and
previous condition of servitude, failing to sep |
arate the white berries from the red; but that
failure seems of little consequence since we find
the haud-picked berries in our markets all in
the same condition, and his rapid method of
harvesting, and ingenious system of flooding
enables him to rpen them much more thor.
oughly than by the ordinary process. The
path he has thus opened: may we'll be trod by
other farmers, and much land, otherwise
utterly waste and valueless, be utilized in
the production of this profitable crop.
Mr.. Ge is pioneer with all the pluck,
ingenuity and perslstency which BELTS the |
andla handsome success crowns his
intelligent efforts. 1