14 



make way for younger wood. It is advisable to cut out all branches which touch the 

 ground as there will then be a better circulation of air, and the fruit will be kept off 

 the ground. Gooseberries will often begin to bear the second year after planting, but 

 there will not be a full crop until the fourth season. If the soil is kept in good con- 

 dition by an annual application of well-rotten barnyard manure in the autumn, har- 

 rowed in the following spring, and if the bushes are kept sprayed and well pruned, the 

 plantation will not need to be renewed for many years." 



The important point to remember is that the finest fruit is borne on the 

 young wood. After two or three 3'ears of bearing the wood begins to fail and 

 produces inferior fruit in smaller quantities. There should always be strong, 

 vigorous growth coming on to take the place of the older wood as it is cut out. 

 Also excessive sunlight induces mildew, as well as scalding, and in pruning this 

 point should be carefully borne in mind. The bush must be kept fairly open to 

 facilitate picking, etc., but at the same time the fruit thrives better where it 

 is shaded from the direct rays of the sun. 



Eenew^al of Plantation. 



In commercial planting it is unusually recommended to renew the plantation 

 of both fruits after eight to ten years. The bushes will live and 'bear much longer 

 than this, but they will not be as vigorous and bear as much or as fine fruit as 

 younger bushes. However, with good care, liberal fertilizing, and proper pruning, 

 bushes may be kept in a profitable condition for many years. 



It is a safe rule to replant as soon as the first trace of waning vigor is 

 detected. The advantage of young and vigorous plants will more than repay the 

 •cost of replanting. Bushes in the home garden may be renewed and reinvigorated 

 by cutting back to tlie ground and numuring heavily. 



PlCKINfi. 



In picking red currants care must be taken to see that the pickers do not strip 

 the fruit off the stem, leaving the stem attached to the bush. When the fruit 

 is stripped off in this manner, the skin is often broken and the fruit quickly 

 spoils. Pickers should be instructed to take the whole bunch off intact. Varieties 

 of currants which have a long clear space of stem at the base of the clusters, as 

 for example. Fay, have quite an advantage, as they can be easily picked without 

 crushing any of the fruit. Black currants are picked by stripping the fruit, leav- 

 ing the cluster stem on the bush. 



The thorny nature of the gooseberry bush complicates the picking of the fruit 

 to some extent, and apart from making the picking a more or less disagreeable 

 task, it increases the cost of the operation. When picked green, the fruit may 

 be stripped off, the picker wearing gloves to protect the hands. After stripping, 

 the fruit is run through a fanning mill to clean out the leaves. Ripe fruit is too 

 easilv crushed to be gathered and cleaned in this manner. The berries must be 

 picked singly. For jam-making gooseberries are picked as soon as they reach full 

 size, but before they begin to soften — " hard ripe." 



Currants and gooseberries should never be picked when they are wet. as if 

 packed up and shipped in that condition they wull soon spoil. For near markets 

 currants should not be picked until almost fully ripe, while for a distant market, 

 tlie fruit should be picked while still firm, though colored. 



Pickers are usually paid about fifteen cents per eleven quart baskets for 

 red currants' and goose'berries, and, as they will pick from ten to twelve baskets 

 in a dav under average conditions, thev make fairlv good monev at it. Thirtv- 



