296 VILLA GAEDENING PART in 



Diseases and Insects. — The Gooseberry is a native fruit, 

 improved and brought by cultivation to its present condition, and 

 will grow anywhere in these islands. If well cared for, though 

 often oppressed by insects, such as the aphis, which curls up the 

 leaves, and the caterpillar, which consumes in a comparatively 

 short time every particle of green, the Gooseberry has no special 

 disease which the cultivator need fear. The worst things are the 

 caterpillars, for, if neglected, they become a real trouble. In their 

 worst form they are the larvie of a saw-fly, which lays its eggs on 

 the under side of the leaf about the end of J\Iay. There is a 

 Gooseberry moth, but its progeny is not so destructive as that of 

 the saw-fly. Perhaps the best way of getting rid of them is to 

 look for the eggs, pick oft' the leaves on which they are laid, 

 and destroy them. They will be found, about the end of May, 

 packed in lines on each side of the mid rib of the leaf on the under 

 side. Another and a very old plan is to scatter quicklime under 

 the bushes and shake the caterpillars into it, by giving the stem 

 of the bush a sudden tap with tlie handle of a spade. They are 

 easily dislodged if taken unawares, but cling tightly at the 

 least disturbance, and there is no chance of dropping them unless 

 it be done suddenly. The insects in the chrysalis state remain 

 buried all the winter in tlie ground beneath the bushes on which 

 they have been reared. This is a good time to attack them. Some- 

 times a removal of the top soil 3 inches deep to another place, 

 bringing back fresh soil, will get rid of a good number. Another 

 remedy which I have seen recommended, but have not tried, as I 

 have had no caterpillars of late years, is to sprinkle gas-tar beneath 

 the bushes in the winter and stir the soil afterwards with hoe or 

 rake. A brush made of a handful of straw drawn out straight 

 will do for its distribution — though I have not tried this plan 

 myself I have great faith in its efiicacy — and at the same time it 

 will be harmless to vegetation. The aphis may often l)e cleared 

 off by cutting away the infested shoots, if taken in time. If the 

 ripe fruits are required to hang any time they should be protected 

 -^nth nets, especially such kinds as the Warrington. 



The Black Currant. — Plant in a moist situation, where the 

 soil is rich and deep — partial shade not objected to, especially such 

 shade as is aftbrded by a wall or fence ; and the Black Currant 

 succeeds better under the shade of trees than any other fruit, but the 

 darkness must not be too dense. When the Black Currant stands 

 long in one place it generally becomes a wide-spreading bash, with 

 more than one stem, I have generally found the plant standing 

 on single legs or stems bear the finest fruit, but the stool-like bushes 

 are the longest lived and bear the heaviest load. 



