414 CALIFORNIA FRUITS I HOW TO GROW THEM 



the end of the first summer, and branches growing horizontally should 

 be removed. The weaker shoots in the head are thinned out, but not 

 so much as to leave the top too open. If the plant is to grow as a bush, 

 the only winter pruning will consist in removing dead wood, and thin- 

 ning the new shoots as may seem desirable, and cutting back about half 

 of the new growth. Summer pinching of the new growth is desirable, 

 as it causes the fruit to set closely and tends to a thick growth of foliage 

 also, and this is necessary, for the bark is liable to sunburn, and the 

 best fruit is that which is well sheltered by the leaves. Another ad- 

 vantage of the bush form is the less likelihood of killing by borers, 

 which is imminent when the growth depends upon a single stem. Well 

 cared for bushes will bear profitably until about ten years old. Replant- 

 ing should be made on new ground. 



Bearing. The currant bears a quantity of excellent fruit the 

 second year from the cutting, and reaches its fullest product about the 

 fifth to the eighth year, when the yield in the Hayward region is said to 

 range from one and a half to three tons to the acre. 



Varieties. The Cherry currant is the prevailing variety, al- 

 though the old sorts, the Red and White Dutch, the Red and White 

 Grape, etc., are grown in some localities, and Fay's Prolific is approved 

 by some growers. Pomona is one of the best of the newer red varieties 

 and the old Fertile de Palluau is reported as doing better than others 

 in hot, interior situations. Black currants are but little grown, the 

 market demand for them being very light. 



THE GOOSEBERRY 



The Gooseberry is another fruit with somewhat circumscribed area 

 in this State. In localities which favor it, the fruit is often found very 

 profitable, but the demand does not warrant any great increase of prod- 

 uct. Though the gooseberry thrives in some situations which do not 

 suit the currant, they may both be described as averse to the hot and 

 dry parts of the State. Still, for home use or local sale one can grow 

 certain varieties of gooseberries successfully, by protecting them from 

 too great exposure to the sun, and by keeping the soil sufficiently rich 

 and moist. The choice of varieties is of the greatest importance, as 

 will be mentioned presently. At present the chief supplies of the goose- 

 berry, as of the currant, are produced in the country adjacent to San 

 Francisco Bay, though thriving and profitable plantations are found 

 elsewhere near the coast, here and there in the interior, and at consid- 

 erable elevations on the slope of the Sierra Nevada. 



Propagation, Pruning, etc. The gooseberry is grown from cut- 

 tings, very much as already described for the currant. The common 

 and the best method is to start the cuttings early in the winter, though 

 some have succeeded with cuttings taken in the spring just as the new 

 growth is starting out. Disbudding the lower part of the cutting if it is 

 desired to train in tree form is also practiced with the gooseberry, but 

 a smaller percentage of cuttings is found to grow after disbudding. 



