The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1933-12-07
FRUIT THAT is
KING In SEASON
Cranberry ssSide-P Partner" to
Roast Turkey.

time In the bOgs of Massachusetts,
New Jersey and other cranberry
raising states. The piquant "side
partner" of roast turkey and other
holiday delicacies becomes an impor-
tant source of income at that time
of the year for scores of cranberry
producers, and thousands Of pickers.
"The cranberry thrives in 'depres-
sions,' that is. geographical depres-
sions," says a bulletin from the
Washington I'd. CO. headquarters Of
the National Geographic society.
"The type of soil best suited for
cranberry culture Is found only In
low peat bogs which can be easily
flooded to protect the plants from
frost, insects. forest fires and weeds.
"Although the cranberry Is raised
on q small scale In Novia Scotia,
Holland. Australia, and Tasmania,
the cultivated cranberry is largely an
American institution. developed from
native plants. and associated since
pioneer days with Thanksgiving:
Christmas, and New Years feasts.
Before the white man came to the
New world the Indians, it is said.
ate dried, powdered cranberries with
wild turkey.
Massachusetts is the leading Gran.
berry-producing state, growing more
than half of the worlds crop. New
Jersey ranks second. Wisconsin third,
while New York, Oregon. Washing
ton, Minnesota, Michigan, and Vir-
ginia also contribute to the tide OF
ruby berries valued at nearly $4,000
600 annually.
"Cranberries have been cultivated
on Cape Cod since about 1910, but
It was not until the accidental dis.
covery In 1850 that sanding tcover-
ing the boys with thin layer OF
clean sand) improved the quality and
quantity of the crop, that the indus
try really prospered.
''The word bog may suggest a
swampy area. but during most OF the
growing season cranberry bog is as
dry as a well-kept lawn. Water,
however. must be available for food
ing and sometimes for irrigation. A
cranberry bog must possess both
dikes TO hold water as long as it is
needed. and bitches to drain Off ex-
cess moisture; for. while the cram
berry plant can live for months I'M
der water during the dormant sea-
son. it cannot grow or produce fruit
while submerged. II the Dogs are
flooded during the bearing season,
they must be drained rapidly, be-
cause prolonged flooding is often fol
lowed by serious injury to the fruit
and even to the plants.
"Given an acid soil. valueless for
most other agriculture. the cranber-
~ thrives. Decayed vegetable matter
forms an ideal base, while sand.
spread loosely over the field. per-
mits better drainage and also keeps
down weeds and moss. The average
size of Massachusetts, and New Jer-
sey boys is about ten acres, but any
patch of level bog land from one
tenth of az acre up to 100 acres or
more can be successfully cultivated.
Large boys must be subdivided, how.
ever, for flooding and drainage.
Massachusetts boys show better
average yield than those Of any other
state, producing about 80 barrels per
acre. Some bogs have averaged hO
barrels per acre over period of
years. Yields of 100 barrels per
acre. or even a barrel to the rod, are
not unknown. But the all-time cham
pionship for large acreage is held by
an 8O-acre bog in Wisconsin. which
has produced more than 125 barrels
to the acre. and even in off years
yields over 80.
1.-THE cranberry plant Itself is a
tiny, trailing, woody growth. rising
less thar foot above the ground,
but forming dense mat Of vegeta-
ton. Once the fruit was picked en-
tirely by hand. Now hand scoops.
like an enlarged sugar scoop with