THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



GOOSEBERRY (Ribes). The Gooseberry is a hardy 

 deciduous shrub, native of various parts of Europe, in- 

 cluding Britain, where it is either indigenous or has been 

 introduced at an early period, and become naturalised. 

 Its cultivation is neglected in France, Italy, Spain, and 

 Southern Europe, but is much practised in Britain, where 

 the fruit has been highly esteemed since the time of 

 Henry VIII., and is still one of the most popular grown. 

 Plants, under favourable conditions, are recorded as 

 having attained an age exceeding forty years. Two re- 

 markable ones are stated to have been growing about the 

 year 1821, against a wall in the garden of the late Sir 

 Joseph Banks, at Overton Hall, each measuring upwards 

 of 50ft. from one extremity of the branches to the other. 

 Gooseberries succeed well in the North of England and 

 Scotland, and the fruits attain a higher flavour in these 

 parts, where the temperature is moderate and compara- 

 tively cool, than in the hotter climate of the South, 

 where they frequently become prematurely ripened by 

 scorching sun and an insufficiency of moisture. In Lan- 

 cashire, Cheshire, and neighbouring counties, the raising 

 of Gooseberries has received special attention ; more, per- 

 haps, by encouragement offered for very large fruits, than 

 for their superior quality when ripe. These large -fruited 

 varieties are, however, valuable in a green state for 

 cooking, being sufficiently grown for the purpose before 

 the smaller sorts, which are, as a rule, of the highest 

 flavour when gradually and properly ripened. The crop 

 is a valuable and usually remunerative one in the neigh- 

 bourhood of large towns, where there is a demand for 

 the fruit, both in a green and ripened state. It is one 

 of the earliest in use for cooking, bottling, or preserving 

 when green, and, when ripe, a selection of varieties and 

 a cool aspect, will ensure a supply for dessert from an 

 early season until late in the autumn. Although the 

 hushes are quite hardy, the leaves and tender young 

 fruits are very liable to destruction by late spring frosts, 

 if these suddenly happen after a spell of mild weather. 



Propagation may be readily effected by seeds, cuttings, 

 layers, or suckers. The first method is only adopted 

 with a view to raising new varieties, as none of those 

 existing reproduce themselves true from seed ; neither will 

 the product be restricted to fruit of the same colour as 

 that from which the seeds were collected. If any are 

 required, they should be washed from the ripe fruit, 

 merely dried on sheets of paper, and then sown in the 

 open ground, afterwards covering with about lin. of light 

 soil. The young seedlings will be ready for transplanting 

 the following autumn, and will usually require about 

 three years' growth before fruiting. Propagation by cut- 

 tings is the mode generally practised, and it is one that 

 is tolerably certain, if the cuttings are healthy and 

 properly put in. Strong, well-ripened shoots should be 

 selected, and taken off, if possible, at their junction with 

 the older wood. The tops will require shortening to 

 make the cutting about 1ft. long, and all eyes must be 

 carefully removed from the lower half before placing 

 in the soil. Early autumn is the best time for this 

 operation. An open piece of moist ground should be 

 selected, and the cuttings inserted thickly in trenches 

 4in. deep, the soil being then filled in and evenly trodden, 

 and other lines cut out in a similar way, about 1ft. apart. 

 Under this treatment, plenty of time is allowed the cut- 

 tings to callus before spring, and good plants, ready for 

 training in any form desired, will be available the follow- 

 ing year. Layering is a certain method for increasing 

 any variety in summer, by pegging the branches down, 

 and covering them with some light soil. Large branches, 

 or merely their tops, may thus be successfully rooted and 

 removed to permanent positions the same season. Such 

 plants are not so symmetrical as others raised from cut- 

 tings; but the method is useful for the perpetuation of 

 scarce varieties. Suckers have the disadvantage of con- 

 tinually increasing themselves in a similar way from the 



Gooseberry continued. 



base. They are objectionable on this account, as it is 

 difficult to keep all the eyes removed from the part 

 which is under ground. 



Cultivation, Site, Sfc. The Gooseberry thrives in any 

 good garden soil that is of a moist, rather than dry, cha- 

 racter, and not sufficiently heavy to cake hard in dry 

 weather. For growing specially fine fruit, a rich loamy 

 soil, with plenty of decayed manure, should be prepared, 

 and plenty of water supplied throughout the summer. 

 An open situation is best for giving the highest flavour 

 to ripe fruit ; but, if too much exposed to easterly or 

 other cold winds in spring, there is a danger of much 

 injury being caused to the crop thereby. In the hottest 

 parts of the country, the bush form is the best for the 

 open quarter, as the branches then help to shade each 



FIG. 125. FRUITING BRANCH OF GOOSEBERRY. 



other, and protect the fruits that hang underneath (see 

 Fig. 125) from scorching sunshine, which tends to pre- 

 maturely ripen them. Fo an autumn supply for dessert, 

 late varieties should be planted in a north border, or 

 trained on a wall with that aspect, and protected from 

 birds. Such plants are, as a rule, more likely to escape 

 injury from spring frosts, as early growth is not encou- 

 raged, on account of the absence of sun on the plants. 

 In planting bush trees in the open quarter, a distance 

 of about 6ft. apart should be allowed, and the plants in 

 each line placed opposite the angles formed by those in 

 the preceding one. The intervening space may at first 

 be partly occupied by some other crop until the Goose- 

 berries are established. The latter should have the soil 

 removed a little with a fork each autumn, and a dressing 

 of manure applied round the stems. In the more northern 

 parts of the country, a southern aspect, with exposure 

 to sunshine, is most suitable, such as a position afforded 

 by planting and training the trees thinly as espaliers. A 

 number of sorts are naturally of a pendent habit, and 

 are, consequently, best adapted for growing in the bush 

 form. In districts like Lancashire, where very large 

 fruits are grown, a special system of culture is adopted 

 to attain that end, by planting in prepared soil, watering 

 the roots, and placing, for a supply of moisture, saucers 

 full of water under the limited number of fruits retained 

 after severe thinning-out has been practised. This is 

 only a means adopted for special purposes, to obtain 

 large specimens, and it is generally conducted at the 

 expense of high flavour. Where there is a prodigious 

 crop, it is advisable, so soon as safety from frost is in- 

 sured, to thin out some for use in the younger stages. 



Pruning and Training. Gooseberries required for 

 bushes in an open quarter should have a clear stem above 



