Rocky Ford enterprise., 1903-11-20
HORTICULTURE
The Ideal Cranberry Bog.

ING 1ocdt SFdVpcTFy oo9.
So much has been said OF bog con-
ditions. and bog conditions so greatly
influence the abundance OF injurious
species of Insects. that II may not be
out OF place to describe briefly what
bog should be to make insect control
easy and certain. says bulletin 1;s OF
the Department OF Agriculture.
u The bog should be as nearly
level as It can be made. 80 as to To-
lnire the least possible amount of
water to flow II. a bog that can be
completely covered by l2.inch head
Is better than one that requires "a.
end when the difference In level o. an
trca Is 3 or 9 feet or more II Is bcttor
to make the boes ont OF II. that the
lower may be retiowed from the uppe
and less than half Ge amount of
water be required.
t:) Make no one hog so large that
more than thir,y.slx hours are required
TO cover completely. and no more than
'wcn'y'four hours arc required To cfaw
tho ditch level.
t3) Build n reservoir or reserve .
flooded area above tho level Of tho
highest bog Of q series sufficient to
hold water enough to now nj least the
highest bog completely. The i'm.
portance of this requirement IL so
fully appreciated that miles Of ditches
have been dug in New Jersey 10 tap
streams nj a higher level. and many
acres Of swamp area have been Gre
a,cd by raising contour lines To deepen
natural basins. In Massachusetts pow.
cFful pumps have been installed to
pour water directly uron tho bog or
in'o a reservoir above II.
0 Adjust bog levels 30 tha, ;he
upper ono Of tho series can DO com.
plct1ly cmptiod itto tho ono below.
and yet have the gates and outlets no
adjusted that any ono bos may be CON.
plaiciy smp,icd without Interfering
with either those above or below. i,
happens no; infFcaucntiy ,ha, one bos
needs cleaning or other attention while
others do not
tsj There should be a broad. deep.
marginal ditch between tho dam and
tho bog or between tho bog and up.
land. and this ditch should 10 always
clean and at least partly full Of wafer.
Many hiaas of insects caa be alto
E-thcr kept from the logs In this ~ay.
uhii' srasshoppsFs and other insects
arc delayed aa,ii they can ny. Then
they arc feeling on other things. and
they DO no; often change the food hab,
i,s Of their early life.
t1 The dams ard the edges Of tho
aplands should be Ecp, as free as p7s-
sihlo from vegetation that hsFtors
eTanbcrsy..cpiinE species. Cranberry
sln-s should not be tolerated for an
instant. iIuckisbrrEy bushes arc al,
most as bad. and these should he
cleared hack taF some dis,arcC where
boz and upland join without an In
trttSEinE dam Other heath plants
are also undesirable aud should Co,
br allowed too near tho boss nor on
the dams.
El Il follows from vka, has besn
said that hog itself should bc kept as
free as possible from all PRINTS other
than vines. eersain grasses being esre.
cialiy Objectionable because they ar.
used By Ions,hoFnsa Erasshoppers as
places 10 lay their csss.
Hogs SO arranged could be kept com.
pia,ely safe at all times. and snee
property laid out would require little
outlay 10 keep them 60.
The important advantages are shs;
neither Insecticides nor spraying ma.
chinpry would ever be required. and
the insect problem ~oule be reduced
10 the simplest possible terms.