Cranberry Rake, circa 1890

Cranberries grow on vines in sandy bogs. Historically, pickers harvested the fruit by hand during dry conditions. Commercial production required managed wetlands with ditches and flumes to flood the cranberry bogs. Pickers then knocked the fruit from the vines with a toothed rake or scoop. The fruit fell into the tool's receptacle or floated on the surface, where harvesters scooped them up.