82 THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
GOOSEBERRY (Ribes). The Gooseberry is a hardy 
deciduous shrub, native of various parts of Europe, in- 
cluding Britain, where it is either indigenous or has been 
introduced at an early period, and become naturalised. 
Its cultivation is neglected in France, Italy, Spain, and 
Southern Europe, but is much practised in Britain, where 
the fruit has been highly esteemed since the time of 
Henry VIIL, and is still one of the most popular grown. 
Plants, under favourable conditions, are recorded as 
having attained an age exceeding forty years. Two re- 
markable ones are stated to have been growing about the 
year 1821, against a wall in the garden of the late Sir 
Joseph Banks, at Overton Hall, each measuring upwards 
of 50ft. from one extremity of the branches to the other. 
Gooseberries succeed well in the North of England and 
Scotland, and the fruits attain a higher flavour in these 
parts, where the temperature is moderate and compara- 
tively cool, than in the hotter climate of the South, 
where they frequently become prematurely ripened by 
scorching sun and an insufficiency of moisture. In Lan- 
eashire, Cheshire, and neighbouring counties, the raising 
of Gooseberries has received special attention ; more, per- 
haps, by encouragement offered for very large fruits, than 
for their superior quality when ripe. These large-fruited 
varieties are, however, valuable in a green state for 
cooking, being sufficiently grown for the purpose before 
the smaller sorts, which are, as a rule, of the highest > 
flavour when gradually and properly ripened. The crop 
is a valuable and usually remunerative one in the neigh- 
bourhood of large towns, where there is a demand for 
the fruit, both in a green and ripened state. It is one 
of the earliest in use for cooking, bottling, or preserving 
when green, and, when ripe, a selection of varieties and 
a cool aspect, will ensure a supply for dessert from an 
early season until late in the autumn. Although the 
bushes are quite hardy, the leaves and tender young 
fruits are very liable to destruction by late spring frosts, 
if these suddenly happen after a spell of mild weather. 
Propagation may be readily effected by seeds, cuttings, 
_ layers, or suckers. The first method is only adopted 
with a view to raising new varieties, as none of those 
existing reproduce themselves true from seed; neither will 
the produet be restricted to fruit of the same colour as 
that from which the seeds were collected. If any are 
required, they should be washed from the ripe fruit, 
merely dried on sheets of paper, and then sown in the 
open ground, afterwards covering with about lin. of light 
soil. The young seedlings will be ready for transplanting 
the following autumn, and will usually require about 
three years’ growth before fruiting. Propagation by cut- 
tings is the mode generally practised, and it is one that 
is tolerably certain, if the cuttings are healthy and 
properly put in. Strong, well-ripened shoots should be 
selected, and taken off, if possible, at their junction with 
the older wood. The tops will require shortening to 
make the cutting about 1ft. long, and all eyes must be 
- carefully removed from the lower half before placing 
in the soil. Early autumn is the best time for this 
operation. An open piece of moist ground should be 
selected, and the cuttings inserted thickly in trenches 
4in. deep, the soil being then filled in and evenly trodden, 
and other lines cut out in a similar way, about 1ft. apart. 
Under this treatment, plenty of time is allowed the cut- 
tings to callus before spring, and good plants, ready for 
training in any form desired, will be available the follow- 
ing year. Layering is a certain method for increasing 
any variety in summer, by pegging the branches down, 
and covering them with some light soil. Large branches, 
or merely their tops, may thus be successfully rooted and 
removed to permanent positions the same season. Such 
plants are not so symmetrical as others raised from cut- 
tings; but the method is useful for the perpetuation of 
searce varieties. Suckers have the disadvantage of con- 
tinnally increasing themselves in a similar way from the 
Gooseberry —continued. 
base. ‘They are objectionable on this account, as it is 
dificult to keep all the eyes removed from the part 
which is under ground. 
Cultivation, Site, fc. The Gooseberry thrives in any 
good garden soil that is of a moist, rather than dry, cha- 
racter, and not sufficiently heavy to cake hard in dry 
weather. For growing specially fine fruit, a rich loamy 
soil, with plenty of decayed manure, should be prepared, 
and plenty of water supplied throughout the summer. 
An open situation is best for giving the highest flavour 
to ripe fruit; but, if too much exposed to easterly or 
other cold winds in spring, there is a danger of much 
injury being caused to the crop thereby. In the hottest 
parts of the country, the bush form is the best for the 
open quarter, as the branches then help to shade each 
Fic. 125, FRUITING BRANCH OF GOOSEBERRY. 
other, and protect the fruits that hang underneath (see 
Fig. 125) from scorching sunshine, which tends to pre- 
maturely ripen them. For an autumn supply for dessert, 
late varieties should be planted in a north border, or 
trained on a wall with that aspect, and protected from 
birds. Such plants are, as a rule, more likely to escape 
injury from spring frosts, as early growth is not encou- 
raged, on account of the absence of sun on the plants. 
In planting bush trees in the open quarter, a distance 
of about 6ft. apart should be allowed, and the plants in 
each line placed opposite the angles formed by those in 
the preceding one. The intervening space may at first 
be partly occupied by some other crop until the Goose- 
berries are established. The latter should have the soil 
removed a little with a fork each autumn, and a dressing 
of manure applied round the stems. In the more northern 
parts of the country, a southern aspect, with exposure 
to sunshine, is most suitable, such as a position afforded 
by planting and training the trees thinly as espaliers. A 
number of sorts are naturally of a pendent habit, and 
are, consequently, best adapted for growing in the bush 
form. In districts like Lancashire, where very large 
fruits are grown, a special system of culture is adopted 
to attain that end, by planting in prepared soil, watering 
the roots, and placing, for a supply of moisture, saucers 
full of water under the limited number of fruits retained 
after severe thinning-out has been practised. This is 
only a means adopted for special purposes, to obtain 
large specimens, and it is generally conducted at the 
expense of high flavour. Where there is a prodigious 
crop, it is advisable, so soon as safety from frost is in- 
sured, to thin out some for use in the younger stages. 
Pruning and Training. Gooseberries required for 
bushes in an open quarter should have a clear stem above 
