THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 

 GIGANTIC GOOSEBERRIES. 



BY T. RICHAEDSON. 



j] TIRING the month of August, a series of gooseberry 

 shows are held in Lancashire, and one or two other 

 northern counties, and these, although less attractive 

 than exhibitions of flowers, possess a considerable 

 degree of iaterest, and the preparation of the fruit for 

 exhibition afibrds the growers no small amount of innocent and 

 healthful amusement. The prizes are awarded invariably for the 

 heaviest fruit, which in some instances are shown singly, and in 

 others in pairs, classes beiug as a rule provided for the heaviest 

 fruit in the several colours, and for pairs or "twins,'' as two fruit 

 shown together are technically termed by the growers. The towns 

 in which the principal exhibitions of gooseberries have been held of 

 late years are Attercliffe, Southwell, Newark, and Dronfield, and in 

 common with the exhibitions of celery, and other specialties, excite 

 great interest among the growers and their friends. 



As the weight of the fruit is the test of merit, the largest varie- 

 ties are planted, and every effort is of necessity made to develope 

 the fruit to its fullest extent, and the time and labour bestowed upon 

 the trees would quite astound residents in the southern counties, 

 where exhibitions of gooseberries are quite unknown. An experi- 

 enced grower will begin by procuring young trees furnished with 

 about three shoots each ; these are planted in soil that has been 

 liberally enriched with manure, and deeply dug or trenched to a 

 depth of about eighteen inches. The shoots are trained out hori- 

 zontally, those having an upright tendency being brought down by 

 large pegs, and those which hang down are supported by props, as 

 an horizontal position is considered of prime importance. The 

 shoots are pruned back to about seven inches in length, and in the 

 course of the season each produces several laterals ; if these are too 

 much crowded, a portion are removed during the summer, and at the 

 winter pruning, which is usually performed in November, tw^o of the 

 strongest laterals on each of the three primary shoots are selected, 

 and cut back to within about seven inches of their base, and the 

 others are removed close to the main branch. These laterals, in 

 their turn, produce the following season a number of young shoots, 

 and at the winter season two of the strongest are selected as before, 

 and pruned back to seven inches, and all the others are removed. 

 In subsequent years the cultivator aims at keeping the trees thinly 

 furnished with strong healthy shoots, as it is upon the vigorous 

 shoots of the previous season tbat the finest fruit is produced. The 

 tree is not allowed to become overcrowded with wood, because of 

 the risk of the shoots being drawn and becoming more or less 

 weakly ; and they are not thinned too severely, as a full exposure 

 of the fruit to sunshine is not favourable to the attainment of a 

 large size. 



