292 VILLA GARDENING part hi 



suited for Gooseberry culture. In hot countries the berries lack 

 both size and flavour, and though occasionally spring frost may 

 thin our crops, yet a total failure seldom happens. As much as 

 £100 per acre has been made off Gooseberries. It is a crop de- 

 sen^ ing of all the attention that can be given to it ; but in point 

 of fact the culture of the Gooseberry is a very simjile matter, and 

 need not occupy much time in narration. 



Propagation. — This is done by means of cuttings, which 

 should be selected wheu the leaves fsiU in autumn. The longest, 

 straightest, stoutest shoots only should be chosen, to give the 

 necessary length of leg, and keep the fniit from being sjilashed 

 with dirt during heavy showers. The cuttings shoidd not be less 

 than a foot long. The bottom end should be cut straight across 

 just below the joint, and all the buds or eyes, except the three 

 upper ones, should be cut out. The cuttings should be made 

 before Christmas, even if they cannot be planted then, and when 

 made they must be laid in the soil beneath a north wall. The 

 planting should take place any time before the end of March, and 

 I prefer the north border to any other place. They will strike 

 root out in the open, but if the next summer turns out hot and 

 dry the cool border is the best place for them. If they are 

 planted in an open situation, mulch with short litter to keep the 

 moisture about them and afford shelter. Plant in rows 1 foot 

 apart, and 6 inches apart in the rows, burying about 3 inches 

 of the bottom in the ground, and treading the soil firmly around 

 them. 



Pruning and Training. — A well-formed gooseberry bush, 

 when fully grown, should be from 5 to 6 feet in diameter and 

 about 4 feet high, speaking roughly. The shape shovdd be that of 

 a basin, i.e. with an open centre, from which all crossing branches 

 are removed by pruning. In training a young bush always 

 cut to an eye pointing in the direction which we wish the future 

 branch to take, and there will be no difficulty in making the bush 

 assume any shape we like. There are two systems of training 

 Gooseberries common in gardens. One may be called the formal 

 type, in contradistinction to the more natural plan of keeping the 

 bushes weU-thinned out, but nothing more. In the formal system 

 the tree has a more or less formally-arranged skeleton of main 

 branches, from which spring the young shoots which are annually 

 spm-red in, the crop being chiefly borne on these spurs. Accord- 

 ing to the other plan, there is but little attempt at training, and 

 but little shortening of the wood ; the tree is encouraged to 

 renew itself, and as much young wood is left in as there is room 

 for. Though it is never allowed to get into a densely-crowded 



