<P> The name, cranberry, derives from the German, kraanbere (English translation, craneberry), first named as cranberry in English by the missionary John Eliot in 1647 . Around 1694, German and Dutch colonists in New England used the word, cranberry, to represent the expanding flower, stem, calyx, and petals resembling the neck, head, and bill of a crane . The traditional English name for the plant more common in Europe, Vaccinium oxycoccos, fenberry, originated from plants with small red berries found growing in fen (marsh) lands of England . </P> <P> In North America, the Narragansett people of the Algonquian nation in the regions of New England appeared to be using cranberries in pemmican for food and for dye . Calling the red berries, sasemineash, the Narragansett people may have introduced cranberries to colonists in Massachusetts . American Revolutionary War veteran Henry Hall first cultivated cranberries in the Cape Cod town of Dennis around 1816 . In the 1820s, Hall was shipping cranberries to New York City and Boston from which shipments were also sent to Europe . By 1900, 21,500 acres (8,700 ha) were under cultivation in the New England region . In 2014, the total area of cranberries harvested in the United States was 40,500 acres (16,400 ha), with Massachusetts as the second largest producer after Wisconsin . </P> <P> Cranberries are a major commercial crop in the U.S. states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Quebec . British Columbia's Fraser River Valley region produces 17 million kg of cranberries annually from 1,150 hectares, about 95% of total Canadian production . In the United States, Wisconsin is the leading producer of cranberries, with over half of U.S. production . Massachusetts is the second largest U.S. producer . Small volume production occurs in southern Argentina, Chile and the Netherlands . </P> <P> Historically, cranberry beds were constructed in wetlands . Today's cranberry beds are constructed in upland areas with a shallow water table . The topsoil is scraped off to form dykes around the bed perimeter . Clean sand is hauled in and spread to a depth of four to eight inches . The surface is laser leveled flat to provide even drainage . Beds are frequently drained with socked tile in addition to the perimeter ditch . In addition to making it possible to hold water, the dykes allow equipment to service the beds without driving on the vines . Irrigation equipment is installed in the bed to provide irrigation for vine growth and for spring and autumn frost protection . </P>

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