GOOSEBERRIES. 



Large quantities of London manure is 

 also brought down the river in barges, 

 and after partial decay is applied during 

 the winter months before the plantation 

 is dug over, but there is no manure so 

 good as that from a cowyard when it can 

 be got. The plantations should be kept 

 perfectly clean by hoeing and hand- 

 weeding if required, and the ground 

 should always be dug roughly in the 

 winter after the bushes are pruned. 



Varieties.- — Whitesmith for gathering 

 green, Crown Bob either green or red, 

 Warrington for late red fruit. A new 

 variety called Early Kent has lately been 

 very highly spoken of for its earliness, 

 which is a great consideration in goose- 

 berries for market. 



Gathering and Marketing. — Goose- 

 berries, if early, pay well for gathering 

 and sending to market green, and for 

 this purpose Whitesmith is the best 

 among the older varieties for early work. 

 But Early Kent is said to be much ear- 

 lier. The early sorts should be planted 

 in the warmest part of the ground, in 

 order to get the full advantage of the 

 early prices, and all of the " White " 

 Gooseberries should be gathered in a 

 green state for market, as they do not 

 sell well when ripe. Some of the Crown 

 Bobs may also be gathered green, or all 

 of them if prices are good. Warrington 

 generally pays best when ripe. I say 

 ripe, but ripe gooseberries for market 

 must only just be red If allowed to get 

 quite soft they are apt to split in damp 

 or showery weather, and there is thus a 

 risk of great loss, which is avoided by 

 gathering earlier. Also they will not 

 stand handling at the market if over- 

 ripe ; neither will they travel so well ; 

 but if recjuired for sale near home, the 

 wishes of the buyer must be considered. 

 Green gooseberries should realize from 

 2S. to 3s. per stone at the market, ripe 

 fruit IS. 6d. to 2s. 6d. An acre planted 



5 feet apart each way should yield the 

 first year about 40 stones of green fruit, 

 or 60 stones when ripe, worth ^4 to ^5 

 clear of expenses, and this will increase 

 yearly as the trees grow (if the crop is 

 not spoiled by frost), until at six or seven 

 years after planting they should have 

 reached a full size, and give a crop of 5 

 tons per acre, worth ^50 at a low 

 estimate clear of expenses. It is possi- 

 ble to have double this amount occa- 

 sionally by high cultivation and getting 

 the best prices in the market. As goose- 

 berries may be grown among standard 

 apples and other fruits, they will add 

 considerably to the returns, although it 

 is not possible to grow such large crops 

 of under fruit in mixed plantations. 

 They should be packed for market in 

 half sieves containing 2 stones, or 28 lbs. 

 nett, and finished off as advised for 

 black currants. 



Enemies. — Birds are very troublesome 

 to the gooseberry grower, both when the 

 fruit gets ripe (at which time they must 

 be scared off by shooting), and also by 

 eating the buds off when the trees are in 

 a dormant state. It is at this stage 

 when most mischief is done, as every 

 bud eaten then means the loss of two or 

 three gooseberries. Strings of white cot- 

 ton crossed in various ways over the 

 trees by twisting them round four of the 

 most prominent branches is one of the 

 best methods of frightening them away. 

 When damage from this cause is ex- 

 pected the trees should be pruned, and 

 cotton put on them before January, as 

 pruning is not easily done after the cot- 

 ton is on. Bullfinches and sparrows are 

 the most destructive among the buds- 

 All of the former should be destroyed, 

 as they do no good to the fruit grower 

 to counterbalance the mischief. Spar- 

 rows do some amount of good in sum- 

 mer by devouring caterpillars, and must 

 not all be destroyed, or the remedy may 



