294 VILLA GAEDENIXG PART III 



they are to fniit. Sometimes Gooseberries are planted round the 

 margins of the vegetable quarters, and in such a position they shoidd 

 not be less than 8 feet apart, in order to give room to move freely 

 among them. A good plan is to gather the Gooseberries and other 

 bush fruits into beds or quarters by themselves ; but the exigencies 

 of the cultivator's situation will guide him as to what to do in 

 this respect. In whatever situation the Gooseberry is placed the 

 results will be in proportion to the treatment given, and manure, 

 both solid and liquid, will be well bestowed. Mulching, too, is a 

 beneficial process in dry seasons. Heavy crops must be well 

 nourished, or the fruit will be inferior. 



TiMK TO Prune. — Some peoi)le leave the immiug till spring, 

 in places where the birds, such as bullfinches and sparrows, are 

 numerous ; but if the birds cannot be kept down they can easily 

 be circumvented. Black cotton, passed and repassed over the 

 surface of the bushes, generally scares them. If this fails, or in 

 association with it, to make sure, syringe the bushes with a thin 

 mixture of soot and lime, in which a little soft soap has been 

 added. This wall stick to the bushes a long time, and when the 

 birds find anything distasteful they seldom go near them again. 

 Therefore, having the means of keeping oti" the birds, I always 

 prune in autumn, and this gives an opportunity to get the borders 

 and quarters manured and dressed by forking over early in the 

 winter. When grown side by side in rows, in beds or quarters, 

 plant 6 feet ajmrt each way — less space will not permit of justice 

 being done them. 



Summer Pruning. — This is not much attended to as a ride, 

 but if time permits its tendency is beneficial. Simply thinning 

 out the young wood, where too thick, is all that is needed in a 

 general way in average culture. Where a few large berries are 

 required for exhibition, more thinning should be done. 



Gooseberries on Walls. — Walls or fences Avhich are too low 

 or not required for other kinds of fruit may be profitably used for 

 bush fruit. Gooseberries or Currants. The Palmette is the best 

 way to train them. When the young bushes are planted they 

 shoidd be headed back to get breaks from the bottom, which 

 shoidd be led out at right angles, one on each side. From these 

 horizontal branches others shoidd be taken vertically, training them 

 about 6 inches apart. If planted about 4 or 5 feet apart the wall 

 will soon be covered. The Gooseberry succeeds well as an espaher 

 trained against a wire fence 4 or 5 feet high ; it makes a nice 

 verge or margin to the vegetable quarters. By planting the Red 

 Warrington against a north wall, or the north side of a fence, 

 Gooseberries may be had late in the season. 



