The first inquiry, then, is, What kind of land is preferable for a bog? The best growers select a laurel, maple, or cedar swamp, so situated that it can be easily flowed with water at any time when this may seem necessary. They select a swamp in preference to a meadow, because it is found in practice that a meadow always produces considerable coarse grass detrimental to the crop, which does not grow in the swamps. Again, it is proved that a swamp on which wood has grown has a better bottom than the average meadow, as it is largely composed of decayed foliage, which has for many years dropped from the trees, and has gradually become a rich, friable soil, usually free from either weeds or grass. Some growers believe that it is not essential to have the bog so situated that it can be covered by water; but, while there are some very fine dry Cranberry bogs of this description, if an early frost or the fire-worm strikes the crop at a vital time, it causes an entire failure, which could have been prevented had there been a chance of promptly flowing the bog. HOW TO PREPARE A BOG. The Cranberry bog is usually prepared in late fall, winter, or early spring, when the ground is partially frozen, as it is more easily cleared at this time, and cheaper labor is obtainable. The first step in preparing the bog is to mow off, with a bush scythe, all the small brush and undergrowth. We are then ready to get rid of the trees. Experience has proved that the cheaper way is to cut the roots of the large trees, and then by means of tackle, in case they do not fall by their own weight, pull them over to the ground. This saves many days’ labor, which would be necessary if the trees were cut down above the ground and the stumps then dug out. The refuse materials should be gathered into heaps, and, when dried, burned upon the bog; but great care is necessary in burning not to allow the moss and turf, of which the bog is composed, to get on fire; for when once fairly started, it is nearly impossible, except by flowing the bog, to extinguish the flames. These first steps in clearing the bog must be done in the best possible manner, preferably by day labor, under the direct care of a watchful foreman, as the ultimate success of the Cranberry bog depends very largely upon the thoroughness with which all of the tree and bush roots are removed. After the surface of the bog has been thoroughly cleaned off, it is cut into squares, about eighteen inches across, by means of a turf-axe, which is a thin, hatchet-shaped bladed implement, with a stout, hickory handle, about thirty inches long. This axe is utilized for cutting the tough, undergrowing roots, sure to be found just below the surface of the soil.