208 On the Cultivation of the Gooseherry. 



The propagation of this well known genus is by suckers taken 

 from the old plants, by layers, or by cuttings, the last of which is 

 the best, as the cuttings generally form much better roots ; the best 

 time to plant the cuttings is in October or April; the cuttings should 

 be taken from bearing branches, and should be from eight to ten 

 inches long ; plant them in a border of good light earth exposed to 

 the morning sun, leaving two eyes above the top of the soil ; if both 

 eyes start, rub one of them off, leaving the strongest, which should 

 be trained upright to form a regular stem ; they should be watered if 

 the weather proves dry. The bushes should be transplanted, into the 

 places where they are designed to remain, the third year ; the soil 

 should be rich and light, in a free, open exposure ; they should 

 never be planted in the shade of other trees. An English writer on 

 this fruit remarks, " In pruning these shrubs, common gardeners are 

 apt to make use of garden shears, observing only to cut the head 

 round, as is practised in evergreens. Sic, whereby the branches be- 

 come so much crowded, that what fruit is produced never grows to 

 half the size it would do were the branches thinned and pruned ac- 

 cording to rule." 



I fully agree with the writer ; pruning should be done with a 

 knife, removing such shoots as cross each other or give the bush an 

 unsightly appearance ; some of the strong young shoots should be 

 left every year, and a part of the old wood cut out ; if proper atten- 

 tion is paid to pruning, the greater part of the wood in the bushes, at 

 any time, will be only two years old, which will give much larger 

 fruit than the old wood. I prefer leaving the shoots their full length ; 

 some persons cut them to six or eight eyes, but as this increases the 

 number of new shoots, the air, so necessary for the well-doing of 

 the plant, is prevented from circulating through the bush, and the 

 fruit therefore becomes small and mildewed. Little good can be 

 done with the gooseberry without judicious pruning ; and with it, 

 and the aid of a little manure, and digging up the soil once every 

 year, much fine and delicious fruit may be obtained. Strewing a 

 little air slacked lime over the beds every year, about the first of 

 May, is very beneficial. Plant the bushes in rovt's eight feet apart, 

 and six feet apart in the rows, keeping them clear of weeds. 



Yours, 



S. Walker. 



Roxbury, I5th May, 1835. 



The above paper by Mr. Walker will, we hope, be the means of 

 greatly extending the cultivation of the Gooseberry. From preju- 

 dice, or from very little fine fruit having ever been seen in our mar- 

 ket, they seem to be but very little esteemed for the dessert, and less 

 cultivated than almost any of the eatable berries which are produced 

 in every garden. The best varieties, when perfectly matured, are 

 extremely rich, and high flavored. In England this fruit has been 



