358 The Canadian Horticulturist 



GOOSEBERRY QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 



• fSj K u i lHE following questions have been received from different 



T^ persons, and answered by mail, but as they are important to 

 H. gooseberry growers in general, I offer questions and replies 

 for publication. 



(i) " Z>o you recommend fall planting, and why ? " 

 I prefer to plant in the fall, because the gooseberry is 

 often in leaf before the land can be got upon in the spring, 

 and I have always found the bushes did better, 



(2) " What kind of soil is best adapted for raising gooseberries V 

 I find a soil composed of sand and clay, mixed by the action of water, and 

 also a heavy clay soil, both yield large crops of fine berries. So also do a few 

 bushes in a yellow loam five feet deep, but they have been treated liberally with 

 hard-wood ashes and stable manure. 



My bushes are planted 6x4 ft, and I keep the Planet Horse Hoe 

 running between roads about every seven days — less might do. Between 

 bushes I use a shove hoe made so A^ from a piece of an old cross-cut-saw. 





Any handy blacksmith can get one^^ | ^^up. They are very handy for work- 

 ing under large bushes. 



(3) " What kind of fertilizers do you recommend V 



Stable manure and hard wood ashes, and you need not be afraid of putting 

 it on thick — it will pay to do so. I used some nitrate of soda last year, and 

 was so pleased with the results that I am using it more liberally this year. 



(4) " Would offal from a tannery be suitable?'^ 



Being animal matter, I presume Yes, but I should prefer to compost it 

 with stable manure before using, or even with muck or mould. 



(5) " Do you grow on a single stem ? " 



I prefer the shrub form, because of the necessity of renewing the wood at 

 least every three or four years. After about two or three good crops, the wood 

 becomes hide-bound, and the fruit runs small. So after two good crops, I cut 

 away the old wood, and have new wood to take the place of that cut away. I 

 strive to have about six stems. 



(6) " Would you advise planting extensively of I?idustry, Autocrat and 

 Whitesmith ?" 



The first two, no ! Whitesmith is a noble berry, and where spraying is 

 practised will be satisfactory. For one's own use for eating ripe it is hard to beat 

 the Autocrat, but it has an unfortunate habit of dropping its leaves early, and I 

 fear will never be a very profitable berry. 



