berries which contain 10 large
seeds with bony coverings like minute peach pits which crackle between
the teeth, while the name "blueberry" is applied to various species of
berries containing many but very small seeds. It is the latter, not the
large-seeded huckleberry, which offers possibilities for profitable
culture.

At the present stage of the blueberry industry it is best to begin by
transplanting the most promising wild bushes, selecting them for the
size, flavor, color and earliness of the berry as well as for the vigor
and productiveness of the bush. These plants can be propagated in
various ways, which are described in detail in a professional paper of
the department, Bulletin No. 334, by Frederick V. Coville. The aim of
the cultivator should be to secure bushes which will produce large
berries. These cost less to pick than small ones and bring a higher
price on the market. A berry eleven-sixteenths of an inch in diameter
has already been produced under field culture.

The three fundamental requirements for successful blueberry culture are:
(1) An acid soil, especially one composed of peat and sand; (2) good
drainage and thorough aeration of the surface soil; and (3) permanent
but moderate soil moisture. Next in importance to these essentials is a
location such that the berries may reach the market without delay. The
best prices are obtained about the beginning of the wild blueberry
season. The main crop of wild blueberries comes from northern New
England, Canada and northern Michigan. A location to the south of these
areas where the berries will mature earlier is, therefore, to be desired
for the commercial cultivator. One of the most promising districts now
known is the cranberry region of New Jersey, where berries mature early
and the shipping facilities to the market in Philadelphia, New York and
Boston are good.

Another important factor to be considered in selecting a location for a
blueberry patch is the possibility of late spring freezes. For this
reason the bottoms of valleys should be avoided. Freezing seldom injures
the blueberry plant itself, but the fruit crop is often destroyed in
this way. From past observations it appears that wild blueberries
growing in or around bodies of water frequently escape the injurious
effects of late spring freezes, and it seems, therefore, that a flooding
equipment for blueberry plantations similar to those used for cranberry
bogs may, under certain circumstances