Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-12-31
CRANBERRY PICKING.

Pleasant Sights to Be Seen In the Boys In
Early September.
The largest cultivated bog in exist
ence lies about six miles north Of Ware
ham. The bog IL 100 acres In extent
Other boys in the vicinity belong to the
same management These boys arc eli
as clean as the tidiest garden. Tho
long and level stretches, like . carpet
strewn with white and crimson beads
are most pleasing and novel sight
Here in early September a thousand
p;ckers camp about the swamps, some
in temporary board cabins, but most of
them in tents The manager furnishes
the provisions, which the campers cook
for themselves, and he rents them the
tents One hundred and twenty pick
ers constitute company. which 10
placed in charge of an overseer, and
each company has bookkeeper. Each
picker is assigned . strip about three
feet wide across q section Of the bog,
and he is obliged to pick it clean as he
goes The pickers are paid by the
measure, which is broad six-quart
pail with ridges marking the quartA
Ten cents is paid for q measure. There
is a wide variation in the quantity
which a picker will gather in . day
ranging all the way from ten measures
for slow picker to forty and even Atty
for a rapid one, and in extra good pick
ing, seventy-fve measures have been
secured.
Various devices have been contrived
for facilitating cranberry picking. The
Cape Cod growers like the LumboYt
picker best This Is essentially .
mousetrap-like box with front lid ris-
ing by . spiral spring. The operator
thrusts the picker forward into the
vines, closes the lid by bearing down
with his thumb, and then draws the
implement backward so as to pull Of
the berrieA Perhaps fourth Of the
pickers use the implements Children
are not strong enough to handle them
continuously, and where the crop 10
thin they possess little advantage
Raking of the berries Is rarely praotioed
In the Cape Cod region. It fs rough
operation and it tears the vines badly.
late in fall if picking has been delayed
and frost is expected or pick0Fs are
scarce, the rake is sometimes used. An
ordinary steel garden rake is employed
The berries are raked of the vines and
the bog may then be flooded and the
berries are carried to the hume, where
they are secured.
This picking time is . sort of long and
happy picnic-ail the happier for being
busy one The piokers look forward
to it from year to year. and are invigoF-
ated by the change and the novelty.
The berries must now be sorted and
''screeAed" II there are no unsound
berries the fruit can be fairly we'll
cleaned by running 1t Through tanning
mill, and some growers And It an advan.
tage to put all the berries through tho
mill before they 60 to the head screen
erA A screen is a Slated tray about
six feet long and three and . half wide
at one end and tapering to about ten
inches 1T the other, with . side or Dor.
der ave or six inches high. The spaces
in the bottom between the Stats are
about a fourth of an inch wide The
screen is set upon sawhorses, and three
women stand upon side and handle
over the berries removing the poor
ones and the leaves and sticks and
working the good ones toward the small
and open end, where they fall into q
receptacle. The berries are barreled
directly il they are not moist but If wet
they are first spread upon sheets Of cam
vas-old sails being favorites-and al
lowed to remain until thoroughly dry.
Garden and Forest