New York Agriculttjral Experiment Station. 339 



No definite rule can be given for pruning gooseberries because 

 the kind and amount required varies with the individual habits 

 and condition of growth of the bush. A little attention each 

 year is necessary to keep the bushes in best shape for cultivating, 

 spraying, fruit picking and for the free circulation of air through 

 and especially underneath the branches. It is a mistake to 

 think that the center of the bush must be kept open to let the 

 sunlight in as is sometimes advocated. In this climate the fruit 

 may be ruined by such unnatural exposure to direct sunlight 

 and it is better to have it shaded by the foliage. 



Summer Pruning. — This is sometimes practiced with good re- 

 sults. It consists in pinching off the ends of the vigorous shoots 

 at the period of active growth in early summer. The object is to 

 favor the development of fruit spurs. 



Cultivation. — In the spring as soon as the ground is fit to work 

 it is our ijractice to fork lightly into the soil the manure which 

 was placed around the plants the fall previous. Shallow culti- 

 vation is given near the bushes and somewhat deejjer, perhaps 

 three or four inches deep, midway between the rows. It is not 

 well to disturb the roots by deep cultivation. Frequent shallow 

 cultivation is given till about the middle of August when it is 

 discontinued so that the growth may be checked and the wood 

 become well ripened before winter. 



Fertilizing. — The soil must be kept very fertile in order to 

 secure annual heavy crops of fruit and still keep the plants in 

 vigorous condition. At this Station gooseberries are grown on a 

 rather heavy clay loam and stable manure is used for fertilizing 

 them, not only on account of the plant food which it furnishes, 

 but also because of its beneficial effect in loosening the soil. One 

 or two forkfuls of manure are given to each plant in the fall and 

 turned under by shallow cultivation in the spring. For a dis- 

 cussion of the use of commercial fertilizers the reader is referred 

 to Bulletin 94 of this Station. 



Injurious Insects. 



Currant Worm. — The insect that is most troublesome to goose- 

 berries in New York state is the larva of a saw fly which is com- 



