Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-04-04

year by the American people al
thanksgiving and Christmas dinners
ana probably not one in one hundred
ana fifty thousand of the diners eve,
stops to think about where the deli
cious berries come from. The pleas
ure of turkey and cranberry sauce
prevent even thought of the cost
or method OF cultivation of this fruit
the demand for 1t which is increasing
SO last that 1T bids fair within a few
years to be luxury which only the
rich can enjoy.
Cranberries are native to narrow
Deit along the Atlantic coast from
Maine to New Jersey. and in isolated
areas or the mountains and along the
northern border of the United States.
me mecca of the industry, however,
ana the place where 1t is the great.
est commercial success Is on Cape
Cod, Massachusetts, especially In the
great cranberry belt some twenty.
i've miles wide, extending from Buz.
yards Bay northerly to Massachusetts
bay along that line of change from
the gravelly soil of the State in gen.
efal TO the sandy soil Of the cape.
me first paintings of the cranber-
= ny were in this region early in the
nineteenth century, and the first man
10 cultivate the fruit was the subject
of an Indignation meeting, at which
IL was claimed that by building a hog
OF twelve rods he would supply the
market and render the sale of the
@lld cranberry impossible. From this
meagre start, however, the Industry
mas grown to one of first magnitude
and has been extended into other
states. Massachusetts has about OOO
acres of boys, New Jersey 5000 acres
and Wisconsin 5000 acres. In point
OF area next comes Rhode Island. fol.
lowed by Connecticut and New York.
Several other States have from one
TO fifty acres.
All plants show preference for
certain soils and climatic conditions,
ana none are more exacting in this
particular than the cranberry, which,
while easily and successfully grown
on congenial soils. will never pay un.
der adverse conditions. From its
habits we determine that a cold eli.
mate Is necessary, provided either by
northern latitude or highl altitude.
fhe conditions necessary for success
are peaty soil. the best evidence
OF which is the occurrence of native
plants; good drainage, which must be
at least eighteen inches, providing
warm land so the plants will grow
fast and produce good fruit: accessi.
Die sand. large amount of which is
used In constructing bog. and fire.
quent applications required to keen
IL in proper condition. and lastly,
plenty Of water fer flowage A dry
bog will seldom produce every year.
AS pure preventive from frost and
a relief from all insects and fungus
diseases, water is absolutely neces-
sary. Thus the profitable cultivation
can be expected in a limited area
and only on. low, marshy land sur
rounded by sand banks. With these
conditions present, however, it is safe
to undertake the cultivation of this
most profitable of small fruits.
On Cape Cod this low marshy
ground is usually covered with trees
and bushes and contains many large
stumps, the remains of a once heavy
growth. All of these bushes, stumps
and other vegetable growth of every
kind must be removed This work
has been necessarily done by hand
as the ground is too soft to support
animals. Recently, however, ma.
chimes have been constructed for pull
ing stamps. Formerly three
men would remove from fiji
power gasoline engine, and geared so
powerfully that three or four stumps
have been pulled at time. Former
" three men would remove from fiji
teen to twenty stumps per DAY. This
machine with three men has taken
out 1875 stumps in nine hours.
Afser all vegetable material has
been removed the area is made
oil tar
to be kept at uniform depth below
the surface while the fruit is develop.
Ing and to make flooding possible
with minimum of supply of water.
In addition to leveling the surface
flowage dams are required. 1t is bet.
ter to dam off the bog in several sec
tons as often one part is more sus-
ceptible to frost than others, or some
sections may require more water
while fruiting.
bitches are required to permit flow
ing without injury and for drainage
The size and number of the bitches
depend upon the area to be drained,
the number of springs and the den.
sity of the soil. A ditch must en-,
tirely surround the bog to carry off
the surface water from the banks.
The next step consists In covering
the graded area to depth of three or
four inches with sand free from clay
or. loom and containing no seeds. In
Cape Cod sections sand is usually
found adjacent to the swamp land and
is carried to the bog in wheelbarrows
over movable planks. Care must be
taken not to tread this sand into the
peat. and also to spread it to uni.
form depth.
Seeds are used only for originating
new berries. Meadows are establish