New Jersey was devastated by 19th-century iron mining. The land was dredged and drained to create more ground for expanding an iron furnace. The result was an environmental catastrophe that left the swampy land nearly worthless and too poor to support crops.
That is, until 1860, when agriculture transformed the wasteland into prime cranberry bogs. Elizabeth White’s father was lucky enough to own 3,000 acres on which he developed a significant cranberry farm named Whitesbog.
Elizabeth believed he could increase the farm’s income if she could manage to grow blueberries on these elevated strips.
But at the time, blueberries, despite many attempts, couldn’t be propagated by cutting.When a superior plant is found, cuttings allow a new plant to be created that is genetically identical to its predecessor. If a new plant was grown from the seed of that superior plant, it will not be genetically identical.
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/arti...ueberry?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
That is, until 1860, when agriculture transformed the wasteland into prime cranberry bogs. Elizabeth White’s father was lucky enough to own 3,000 acres on which he developed a significant cranberry farm named Whitesbog.
Elizabeth believed he could increase the farm’s income if she could manage to grow blueberries on these elevated strips.
But at the time, blueberries, despite many attempts, couldn’t be propagated by cutting.When a superior plant is found, cuttings allow a new plant to be created that is genetically identical to its predecessor. If a new plant was grown from the seed of that superior plant, it will not be genetically identical.
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/arti...ueberry?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
