One of the greatest enemies to successful Cranberry growing is one
that can be easily conquered, but which is oftenest neglected; that
is, the weeds and small bushes when they first appear. It is a
comparatively easy matter under the more favorable conditions, during
the three years before the bog comes to full bearing, to go over it
once or twice during each season with a hoe, and clean out every weed
and bush, no matter how small and insignificant it make look. But
the grower often thinks that this is unnecessary labor, especially
as he has put considerable money into the bog, and as yet has had
no returns from his investment. If this work is neglected now, when
the bog comes to fruiting there will be found, especially among the
plants, quite an amount of injurious weeds and small bushes which
increase rapidly from year to year, and finally kill out the bog. But
if during the first three years they are steadily and systematically
cut down, they become so thoroughly eradicated that a little going
over the bog every spring will keep it in good condition for ten or
fifteen years, with little trouble from either weeds or bushes.
The cultivation of the Cranberry, ever since it has been
cultivated for a crop, has been a practical exemplification of
the advice of that eminent agriculturist, Horace Greeley, who,
for the extermination of the Canadian thistle, recommended its
“cultivation,” as then there would come plenty of enemies to
accomplish its destruction.
The fire, span, tip, and fruit worms rank in the order named as the
most destructive,--the first two in the list blasting in a few hours
an almost assured and abundant crop.
The larger growers, after experimenting with perhaps all of the
known insecticides, have most generally adopted some form of tobacco
preparation, applied in solution in the form of a spray, upon the
first indication of the approach of the fire-worm.
So extensive is the use of tobacco, that one grower, Mr. Franklin
Crocker, of Hyannis, treasurer of the South Sea Cranberry Company,
who has probably given as much attention as any other grower to this
branch of the business, informs us that for himself and others he
purchased, in its various forms, over five thousand dollars’ worth
of tobacco during the past two years, for this purpose. Mr. Crocker
tells of his experience with tobacco in his letter on page 3 of cover.
Many growers (not all) are able to resort to “Spring Flowage” as an
effective and cheap remedy for fire-worms. That this is effective
there can be no question, but in its application for destroying
the worm it is injurious to the keeping quality of the fruit when
gathered.