Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1886-07-23
wAKIEa 4 cPkrETRnY Zoo.
Clearing Away StUmps--PrcpRri NC
for Frcst--IsuiidIng BskeS--
Landing on Ice, etc.

Landing on lee, etc.
A farmer who has not the ready money,
and who has the other essentials for
cranberry bog, wiz mortgage his farm 10
put I'm this source o. revenue. The first
essential is q Cwamp with a peat bottom.
During the winter hc available wood is
cut Oil, and the smaller stumps are re-
moved, the larger ones being LIT FOR tho
frost 10 throw Ugt. During the milder
days the work goes on of removing
stumps, dwelling, and filing in with turf.
A,tcr the larger stump3 have been re-
moved, and the bog made comparatively
level, the diEcs are built, These src built
at such distances arart as TO inclo7c three
CT four acres OF bog, 50 that the iuclosed
space can be readily overlooked 10y shut
ting the sideways in tie dixie. The bet
ter to carry of the water bitches are dug
leading to principal ditch parallel with
the dixie. Then the hog must be sanded
TO depth of three or four inches being
drained of wafer as much as possible be-
fore sanding. Tine frost usually throws
the bog IN anticipation Of this, the ice
over the log is covered with fand during
the winter especially If the log has been
planted with vines the previous fan, 50
that in Tie c.l:ng the ice melting dis
tributes the sand Oh the bog, thus saving
carriage,
The second essential to bog is q sand
bank or hill near The swamp, supplying
sand that must be free from loan, since
loan brings in weeds In the spring or
fall, when the bog is canded, it may be
planned, the intention being to save as
much time as possible. The first year
there is little trouble from weeds, but the
| second and third summer after planting
the vines it is necessary to weed thor
oUghly, and to keep the water in the
trenches low, so rs not TO encourage the
growth of weeds. After the third year the
! vines are strong enough and cover the bog
sufficiently to take care of themselves.
| The vines are cut with scythes from an
existing bog, and planted by being placed
| in the new bog, three or four inches deep,
| Just below the sand.
The third year the bog Is expected to
bear and to pay all expenses Of ConstIuC-
ton. During The second year it may PCS
| sibly pay interest On the money spent in
making it. The year after the third is
usually the best bearing year; after that
the yield is about equal The greatest
danger is from frost. A continual watch
has to be kept after the first year, and the
| bog has to he sfowcd" Immediately
Sometimes frost in June OF last Of May
viii iniure tho budding vines thus de.
| stroying Il years crop. The next yisitG.
ton most feared is that of insects, which
ruin the berry and leave their eggs for the
next year. The remedy is to burn and
thus destroy the bog, CT the infected part
of it, or to flood it. Drought and forest
| l.,
is "fiowed" to avert frost, there is dan
ger if the succeeding day is very warm
and the vines are bearing berries, that the
heat may ruin the fruit while it is exposed
wet to the sun. It is desirable TO keeI
the berries as long on the vines as posi-
bic, as they turn dark when ripening, and
the darker the berry the higher the mar
ket price, other qualities being equal.
The picking is a picturesque sight the
costume for the women being a calico
dress and a sun-bonnet Gn shape the
same as the Shakers woar), They pick
with their backs to the sun, in rows
divided by strings, to insure "clean pick
ing" each one being kept in the pre-
scribed place till the vines ore wei
picked. A cranberry barrel is smaller
than ordinary, 100 quarts to the barre
being the rule, but they are tightly presscC
and forced in, SO that after shipping they
are found to be solid in the barrel. A
dealer viii have nothing to DO with &
barrel in which the berries shake. A
good price is $40 per barrel Sometime!
it is SIC to SIT, or more. It ''pays'' al
81 per barrel but good berries never sci
as low as that. The cost OF making {
bog apart from the cost of the swamp
is about $3.50 per acre. It is desirable tt
put in at least ten acres, as a certain
amount of diking has to be done, ant
possibly q reservoir built, so that The
more acres this inCloses the less the eX
pence per acre. A very good yield o
berries would be 100 barrels 20 the acre
This at $40 per barrel the average price
in good years. is $1,000, after an eXpen
dfture OF, say, $3.50 per acre for making
the bog, picking, and in running cx
penses for three years from the break
ing of the swamp. After the fourth
year the average yield is perhaps from
sixty to eighty barrels per acre. Somt
farmers store their berries until the mex
spring hoping tor better prices, but i
has been usually found that the shrink
age more than equals the advance il
price Harper's Weekly.