Rocky Mountain Husbandman

CRANBERRY CULTURE.

Mr. Wm. E. Sill, 2d. writes from Wayne
county, N. Y., that he has several marshy
inlets, full of flags, old bogs and brush, and
where cranberries grow sparingly. He inquires what would be necessary to put these
in the best condition for raising the fruit.
The marshes, he adds, can be easily dammed and flooded at pleasure. The location
described would seem to be a good one for
cranberries, though it is difficult to say with
certainty where they will be sure to thrive.
Those who ought to be the best judges
have frequently been mistaken during the
last few years, and could scarcely tell why.
The worst difficulty growers have to contend with is the "scald"
or "rot"-a disease comparatively unknown until the last
few years, but which has destroyed crop after crop on many plantations which were
once considered the best in the country. The
investigations have not yet satisfactorily
shown the cause or cure of this disease, and
in new localities it would seem desirable to
test the culture of this fruit in a moderate
way before doing very much in it.
The land should first be cleared of the
brush, flags, bogs, etc., much of which may
be done with a turning hoe. The main water course should be cleared, so that the water
will flow freely, and lateral ditches dug on
each side running into it; the distance apart
must be determined by the nature of the
ground, and be such that the land will be
thoroughly drained. The spaces between
the lateral drains, after being thoroughly
cleared and dug up should be leveled up, or
better, very slightly rounded. After this is
done, it has been thought essential by many
growers to have the entire surface covered
with sand from three to six inches deep.
Many, however, have succeeded without
doing this; it saves much labor in the original preparation of the land to dispense with
it, though the weeds will grow faster for
the first few years or until the vines get
possession of the ground. Your land might
be tested both with and without sand. After preparing the surface, the vines may be
set about 20 inches apart each way. A dam
should be so constructed as to flow the entire plantation, and this should be done
(both as a protection from worms as well as
the frosts of winter) from November or December until about the 10th of March,-E.
W. C. in N. Y. Tribune.