22-1 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



almost as easilj' as potatoes. Thus it will be seen that gooseberries 

 can be grown and sold at a verj'^ low price, with considerable profit. 

 There is a growing- demand for gooseberries. Green gooseberries 

 are ready to harvest at a very early date when there is a scarcity of 

 fresh garden fruits. At this earlj' date, they luake excellent pies and 

 sauce, also jams and jellies. 



In England, gooseberrj^ jams are used with bread in place of 

 butter, being more economical. In this country there has been no 

 supply of gooseberries in the market up to this date, therefore, 

 gooseberries have not been so largely consumed as thej^ will be when 

 the supplj' increases. 



Gooseberries continue bearing on the same piece of land longer 

 than most fruits; say, from ten to twenty years, depending on the 

 culture given. There is lao fruit so certain to bear a crop with so 

 little attention. If rainy weather occurs, gooseberries are not in- 

 jured as are many fruits. It is not necessary to pick them on any 

 certain daj'. Plant on good strong corn or wheat soil on a northern 

 slope, if such can be secured. As in all other fruit culture, see that 

 the soil is well subdued of grass and weeds before planting. Mark 

 out the rows in field culture five feet apart one way and three feet 

 apart in the row. Plant in the fall, if possible. If not planted in the 

 fall, plant very earlj^ in the spring, as the gooseberrj^ is one of the 

 first to leaf out, and if planted late will not succeed. Where goose- 

 berry^ plants die after planting, it is solely from being planted too 

 late in the spring, as gooseberries are one of the easiest things in 

 the world to transplant any tiine before the leaves have pushed out. 



As to varieties, Houghton is the old-fashioned, smallish goose- 

 berr}', an enorinous cropper, and desirable in every respect, except 

 size. Downing is a newer gooseberrj', nearl}- twice as large, and 

 also exceedingly^ desirable. These two are the old established fav- 

 orites. Industry is an English gooseberry, which has been grown 

 in this countrj' for the past five years. It is a red gooseberry of 

 large size and fine quality, succeeding famousl3% except in a few 

 localities where it is subject to mildew. 



Lancashire Lad is another English gooseberry of more recent in- 

 troduction into this country. It is a verj' large red gooseberry, as 

 good to eat out of hand as an apricot; a heav}' bearer, and less liable 

 to mildew than other English varieties. These English gooseberries 

 are of monstrous size and delicious qualit}', but it has been sup- 

 posed that they could not be grown in this countrj- on account of 

 liability to mildew. It has been discovered, however, that in very 

 many localities no mildew occurs. Mildew is caused b}' the hot 

 sunshine; thus, to guard againstmildew, plant in the shade of grape- 

 vines or of buildings. 



An absolute remedy for mildew has been discovered by the Geneva 

 experimental station, which consists of a spray of half an ounce 

 liver of sulphur to each gallon of water, applied each ten days from 

 June to August. Thus, it is possible to grow the large English 

 gooseberries Ijy the acre with no more 'expense in fighting the mil- 

 dew, should it occur, than in potato culture in spraying to destroy 

 the potato beetle. — Green's Fruit Grower. 



