GOOSEBERRIES. 



£y\ pv^HIS is a good fruit to grow for 

 sale, as they can either be dis- 

 posed of ripe or green — in 

 which state they often give the 

 best returns— or they may, in the case 

 of the red varieties, be left until ripe. 

 In Kent, England where large quantities 

 are grown, they are generally gathered 

 by women and girls, who earn good 

 wages at the rale of 4d. per half sieve for 

 green ones, and 2'jd. to 3d. for ripe 

 fruit. 



Planting. — The best time for this as 

 for all fruits, is when the leaves begin to 

 change color ; but any time between 

 October and May will do if there is 

 no severe frost or snow at the time. 

 Gooseberries may be raised from. cut 

 tings in a similar way to black currants, 

 except that gooseberries are best grown 

 with a stem, from 6 inches to i foot 

 high, to allow of digging, etc., under- 

 neath, and to keep the fruit from the 

 ground, also to prevent so many strong 

 shoots growing in the centre of the tree. 

 The cuttings should, therefore, be not 

 less than 9 inches in length, as 3 inches 

 should be put into the ground and trod 

 den in firmly All the buds should be 

 cut off gooseberry cuttings except three 

 or four at the top, to prevent suckers 

 springing up from the root. The dis- 

 tances for planting should be the same 

 as for black currants. The gooseberry 

 will thrive in a stony soil belter than 

 currants. The cost of planting per acre 

 will be about the same as for currants. 



Pruning. — For young bushes this con- 

 sists in selecting six or eight main 

 branches springing out evenly not far 

 from the top of the stem. Thus, if the 

 cutting throws out three or four shoots 

 the first year they may be cut back to 

 within 4 inches at pruning time, when 

 each one will throw two or three good 



Shoots the next season, and enough may 

 hen be selected to form the future tree, 

 keeping the centre open and cutting 

 always to buds that point in the right 

 direction for the branch to grow. Some 

 varieties, and especially Warrington, 

 persist in bending over towards the 

 ground, and require pruning back well 

 to get the main branches as upright as 

 possible. All strong roots in the centre 

 of the tree should be cut clean out and 

 the small side branches cut off within 

 an inch of their base, leaving one almost 

 full length occasionally in the thinnest 

 jiarts of the tree, and always leaving a 

 good leader at the point of the main 

 branches until they get 4 feet in height. 

 Summer pruning is also of great benefit 

 to the gooseberry. This consists in cut- 

 ting out all young shoots in the centre 

 of the tree and elsewhere which would 

 otherwise be cut out at the winter prun- 

 ing. By cutting them out in summer 

 as soon as the fruit is gathered the re- 

 maining buds on the main branches get 

 a better chance to ripen and store up 

 nourishment for the next year's crop. 

 The work is also much better done in 

 mild weather than in the winter. In the 

 Kent plantationsgooseberries are pruned 

 by the " tree cutters " in "piecework," 

 during the short days of winter at about 

 IS. 6d. per 100 trees, according to size 

 Cultivation and Manuring.— Like all 

 other bush fruits, gooseberries pay well 

 for an application of manure about once 

 in two or three years. Night soil is 

 often given to them in Kent, and ma- 

 terially assists in bringing very heavy 

 crops of fruit to perfection. The soil is 

 removed from under the bushes early in 

 the spring, forming a basin-shaped cavity 

 into which half a pailful of night soil is 

 poured, and the next day the earth is put 

 back again which had been removed. 



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