The meadow is checquered with little canals by means of which the
whole surface is flooded in winter-time, so as to protect the
vines from the ill effects of frosts and thaws. In the spring, the
water is drawn off at low tide through the flood-gates.
When the cranberry-pickers are at work, they make a curious sight,
for there are people of all ages, odd dresses, and both sexes
among them, and often a tottering old man may be seen working
beside a small child. The little ones can be trusted to gather
cranberries, for the fruit is not easily crushed in handling.
Where cranberries grow thickly, one can almost fill one's hand at
a grasp.
The overseer's one-roomed shanty, where he cooks, eats and sleeps,
is on a knoll, and near it are the barrels in which the berries
are packed, after they have been sorted according to size and
quality.
Picking cranberries may be pleasant enough in fine weather, but it
must be miserable work on a cold, drizzly day.
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