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Cranberry Industry 1899

The Cranberry Growers
Twelfth Annual Meeting of State Association
From the Wood County Reporter, Thursday Jan. 12, 1899, Page 1

The twelfth annual meeting of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers' Association was called to order Tuesday afternoon, January 10, in the council chamber of city hall at Grand Rapids. Among those present from out of town were past president H. O. KRUSCHKE of Berlin, W. H. GEBHART of Black River Falls; and Judd WAIT of Embarass, Waupaca County. The attendance was not as large as on some former occasions but this meeting was one of the most profitable for those interested in cranberry culture that has ever been held in the history of the association.

President A. C. BENNETT being absent in Orlando, Florida, Mr. KRUSCHKE, on motion, took the chair and presided over the meeting until the appearance of Vice President Charles BRIERE later who was then called to the seat.

The president's address was read by secretary E. P. ARPIN and was filled with numerous potent suggestions to growers that brought out spirited discussion at the close of the reading.

A committee of three, Messrs. J. A. GAYNOR, Andrew SEARLS and A. E. BENNETT, was appointed to draw up the necessary papers to secure enactment before the state legislature with the purpose of securing proposed changes as to standard barrel, crates and bushels, all passed upon at the August meeting in 1898, viz: The Cape Cod barrel with capacity of 100 quarts, provided for tight packing; the crate or picking box as used in New Jersey, capacity 32 quarts; a bushel with 32 pounds weight as standard.

On motion duly made and seconded a vote of thanks was extended to the weather bureau at Wisconsin and the local bureau in Milwaukee for the weather reports sent to members of the association during the growing season.

J. A. GAYNOR read the report of Gaynor Bros. on Experimental Station No. 1. He had on exhibition sixty different varieties of berries, all grown at the station on Gaynor Bros. marsh from vines gathered at every portion of the cranberry belt in the United States extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. These varieties were tested as to keeping quality and merits. Several varieties of foreign berries are now being tested at the experiment station. Few people know that there exists so many kinds of cranberries. From the tests it was shown that the late grown berries are the best in keeping quality and color, with few exceptions. One of the varieties exhibited was particularly attractive in size. They were of the bugle form averaging in measurement more than one inch each in their largest diameter.

Mr. SEARLS submitted an interesting report of Experimental Station No. 2, which was accepted and placed on file. The executive committee was, on motion, empowered to build a woven wire fence around experimental stations.

CROP REPORT OF PAST SEASON

Bears--Bennett & Son           2200 bbls
Rezin Bros.                     720 bbls
Surrounding marshes             285 bbls
Arpin                           150 bbls
S. N. Whittlesey                 50 bbls
                              3,205 bbls
Elm Lake                      2,400 bbls
Daly                            165 bbls
City Point                      637 bbls
Nekoosa                         150 bbls
Berlin                       13,000 bbls
Black River Falls               165 bbls
Millston                         40 bbls
Warrens                         415 bbls
Dr. Standberry & Co.          1,000 bbls  

Many thanks to Joan M Benner for transcribing these pages.
Her professional page can be seen at: Golden Rule Genealogy.

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