THE GOOSEBERRY. 83 
me that he cultivates Woodward’s Whitesmith most 
successfully by removing a few inches of the surface- 
earth, every spring, under every bush, and filling the 
space with salt hay, which he covers with the earth ; 
thus affording protection from drought, and perfectly ex- 
empting the fruit from mildew. Others find a remedy 
in sprinkling ashes on the bushes when the dew is on. 
The ashes also benefit the plant. Any good mulch of 
tan-bark, sawdust, &c., of three inches deep, would 
answer nearly the same purpose as salt hay. Sprinkling 
the bushes in the spring freely with soap-suds also has 
a good effect on their growth, and often protects them 
from mildew. ‘The bushes should be transplanted in 
April or late in October or November, and pruned 
back and set at a distance of about three feet, like the 
currant. If any large fruit is wanted, the fruit must 
be thinned out. The Hneyclopedia of Gardening says 
of the famous growers in Lancashire, England, who 
produce the largest fruit in the world: “To effect this 
increased size, every stimulant is applied that their 
ingenuity can suggest; they not only annually manure 
the soul richly, but also surround the plants with 
trenches of manure for the extremities of the roots to 
strike into, and form around the stem of each plant a 
basin, to be mulched, or manured, or watered, as may 
be necessary. 
“They also practise what they term suckling their 
