174 CROP PRODUCTION 



types of Gooseberries — the European and the Ameri- 

 can, with many varieties of each. The European berries 

 are larger, but have thicker skins and are the poorer in 

 the quahty of the fruit. They have the great defect, 

 however, that they are very subject to attack by Goose- 

 berry Mildew, a fungous disease that practically pre- 

 vents their being grown to any great extent without 

 persistent spraying. Industry and Triumph are the 

 most important of the European sorts now planted in 

 America. In some favored localities they are not much 

 injured by Mildew. 



Except in the matter of size the varieties of American 

 origin are better than the European, being hardier and 

 more vigorous and yielding fruit with thinner skins 

 and of better quality. Many of the American sorts are 

 chance seedHngs from wild plants, while others are 

 hybrids in which the American characters predominate. 

 The Downing is the most popular sort. It is a seedling 

 of the Houghton and was first grown by Charles Downing 

 in New York state. 



Propagation and Culture 



Gooseberries are grown from cuttings, although uni- 

 form success is not so easy as with currant cuttings. 

 The method is the same in both cases, but the Goose- 

 berry stems do not root so readily. In nursery practice 

 new plants are generally grown by a special system of 

 layering. Well-established bushes several years old are 

 severely cut back in the fall or winter so that a vigorous 

 crop of young shoots will be sent out in spring. Then 

 soil is mounded up around the bush and filled in at the 

 center in such a way that the bases of the young shoots 



