THE PLANTING.
TheCranberry is propagated, through the means of vines which are procured from old bogs; they are cut or mowed off, preferably from vines not more than three or four years old. In sorting these cuttings, care should be taken to remove all the dead wood, and only the bright, clean cuttings used for planting. Most growers estimate five barrels of cuttings to the acre of bog, as they use from four to six cuttings in each setting. Some growers prefer taking runners twenty to thirty inches in length, and doubling them over at time of planting; but the former seems to be the generally adopted method.
The usual method of planting is by using a “dibble,” or setting-blade, made from hard wood, although one of the shrewdest growers has recently adopted an implement consisting of an iron blade, with a cross-piece handle of wood. He claims that this is far preferable to any wooden instrument, and always readily presses through the sand, although it is not sharp enough to cut the vines.
In planting, a bunch of four or six runners is placed upon the sand at every intersecting corner. This bunch is held in the left hand of the planter, while with his right hand he presses them into the sand by means of the “dibble,” so that they will reach through to the soil beneath, and when planted will not come above the surface more than two inches. The accompanying sketch shows the method of planting.
A A is the main ditch encircling the bog.B B is the central ditch.C C are the cross-ditches draining into main and central ditches.D D are the lines made by the marker.E E show points at which plants are set.
A A is the main ditch encircling the bog.B B is the central ditch.C C are the cross-ditches draining into main and central ditches.D D are the lines made by the marker.E E show points at which plants are set.
A A is the main ditch encircling the bog.B B is the central ditch.C C are the cross-ditches draining into main and central ditches.D D are the lines made by the marker.E E show points at which plants are set.
About two weeks after the cuttings are set, a small handful of Bradley’s Superphosphate should be scattered around each bunch of cuttings, as this will cause them to grow with great vigor, and so stimulate their growth that few if any of the cuttings will die; sometimes not one in a hundred will fail to make a flourishing set. It is a little more work, but advisable, to put the fertilizer in the hill, just under the sand.
Some growers prefer, after the bog is planted, to keep the ground wet by damming back the water to within six or eight inches of the surface of the bog, and keeping it here until the vines give signs of having made some growth. The water is then let out of the ditches, and the vines take care of themselves through the ensuing season, unless it happens to be a particularly dry summer. If so, once or twice, through the dryest of the season, the water should be dammed back for a few days, and the vines receive the benefit of the irrigation. They will not need any further care during the first season, unless there is a growth of weeds, which should be effectually destroyed.
A cleanly, well-kept bog is not only a beautiful sight, but is the foundation for large returns in the future; it requires no little care, during the first year or two, on the best of bogs to secure the proper money return, in order that the unavoidable outlay heretofore outlined may be rendered remunerative. Four hundred dollars per acre is no unusual amount to be expended in preparing a bog.