314 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



plantations, it is advisable to have a test i)lot. This plot should be lo- 

 cated where the soil is most characteristic of the commercial plantation. 

 Twenty-five ])lants of a variety will suffice for tostinj;. P.y such a te.'^t 

 plot a grower can lind which varieties are suitable for his farm and nt 

 but slight expense. 



GOOSEBERRIES. 



The second earliest fruit ready for market is the gooseberry. It is 

 principally a ])ie fruit and is usually prc>;er\ed for such purposes. Its 

 market is more limited than that for the strawberry, but it is not nearly 

 as perishable and can be picked and used at various stages of maturity. 

 At present the demand does not equal the supply. 'Mova of this fruit is 

 being commercially preserved every yciw and this use should take care 

 of an increasing sujiply for many years. However, due to the high 

 price of plants comparatively few gooseberry i)]antations have been 

 planted during the past few years. 



The care of the gooseberry is not as exacting as the strawberry, but 

 good care pays and the profits are good, sometimes being as high as sev- 

 eral hundred dollars per acre. A well drained, moderately rich soil or 

 one that will grow good corn will be suitable for gooseberries. The lo- 

 cation should be sunny and there must be a good circulation of air on 

 account of the susceptibility of the fruit and foliage to a fungous disease 

 known as the mildew. The ground should be well fitted and fertilized 

 before the plants are set out. But fertilizer can be applied more easily 

 to gooseberries after the plants are set than can be done with straw- 

 berries. 



PLANTS AND PLANTING. 



Two year old plants are generally planted and usually sold by the 

 nurserymen but one year old plants that have made a good strong growth 

 will do. The plants are usually set in rows six feet apart and four 

 feet in the row. If the roots are very long, it is advisable to trim them 

 back slightly. The ])lants should be set slightly deeper than they were 

 in the nursery, especially on a light soil and the roots spread out as 

 much as possible and then the soil firmed about them. 



CULTIVATION. 



The cultivation of gooseberry i)lants should be thorough and started 

 early in the spring and continued until about the first of August when 

 a cover crop, preferably oats, should be sown. An application of well 

 rotted stable manure before cultivation starts will undoubtedly pay 

 well and this might be supplemented with an application of one hundred 

 to two hundred ])0UTids of muriate of i)otash aiul two hundred to five 

 hundred pounds of acid phosphate per acre. 



PRUNING. 



The pruning of the gooseberry plant is important. When the jjlants 

 are set the tops should be cut back slightly and the bush balanced up 

 as much as possible. A good bush should have about six bearing canes. 

 The tops of each cane should be cut back slightly each year and the 



