GOOSEBERRY CATERPILLARS. 222 



GOOSEBERRY CULTURE. 



form a head. According to the ordinary 

 system of training, the branches are often 

 borne to the ground by the weight of the 

 fruit, which is destroyed by being draggled 

 on the soil and splashed by heavy rains. 

 For further information on the culture of 

 the goosebejary and a list of the best 

 varieties, sev Bush Fruit. 



Gooseberry Caterpillars. 



These pests are exceedingly prevalent, 

 and at times in some parts of the country 

 the gooseberry has been nearly destroyed 

 by them. They come principally from a 

 saw-fly, which lays its eggs in rows along 

 the under-ribs of the leaves, and after 

 having committed its ravage, falls to the 

 ground, where it lives in the pupa state till 

 the following season. The bushes should 

 be carefully looked over once a week to 

 watch the hatching of the eggs, when the 

 infected leaves may be picked oft. To 

 prevent the fly from settling, the bushes 

 should be dusted over with hellebore 

 powder, or watered with a strong decoction 

 of the Digitalis, or common foxglove. If 

 the caterpillar has begun its ravages, 

 the ground beneath the bush should be 

 sprinkled with new lime, and a double- 

 barrelled gun fired two or three times 

 under it to shake the caterpillars down 

 into it. The most effectual preventive, 

 however, is to remove the top soil from 

 under the bush during the winter time, and 

 destroy the grubs in it by mixing it with 

 salt or soot : the parings so mixed may be 

 buried or entirely removed, and new soil 

 placed round the roots instead of it. 

 Layers of bark from the tan-yard, when 

 used as a covering of the soil underneath 

 the bushes, have been found very useful in 

 destroying the insect in its chrysalis state. 

 In the autumn or winter, when digging 

 between the bushes, sow the whole ground 

 over with fresh-slaked lime, using a liberal 

 supply of ime, more particularly round the 



stems and about the roots of the bushes, 

 forking the ground over. About the middle 

 or latter end ot March repeat the applica- 

 tion, more especially round the roots, and 

 rake the ground in, repeating the operation 

 in two or three weeks. Few caterpillars 

 will survive this treatment. 



Gooseberry, Culture of the. 



Though the gooseberry will grow on the 

 poorest soil, it will not produce fine fruit 

 unless planted in a deep, rich soil, and 

 treated generously. Though hardy, it 

 requires moderate shelter, and though 

 rejoicing in moisture, it will not flourish 

 in undrained land. 



CtittingS) Management of. Cuttings 

 should be planted any time from October 

 to March. Select for the purpose shoots of 

 a medium size, not root-suckers, about a 

 foot or more in length. Cut the base of 

 the shoot square ; no fruit canes should ever 

 be planted with slanting heels ; after this, 

 remove with a knife every bud from the 

 base to within two inches of the top. If 

 the cuttings are fifteen inches long, and four 

 heads are left at the top, the future stem 

 will be a foot high, which will be ample for 

 a useful tree. The lower buds are removed 

 in order to secure a clean stem and prevent 

 the formation of suckers. Plant the cut- 

 tings in the shade four inches deep, and fix 

 the earth firmly about them. During sum- 

 mer, young growing shoots strike readily 

 under a hand-glass on a shady border, and 

 a season may frequently be saved in this 

 way. 



Pruning and Training. The first 

 season's growth of cuttings put in in 

 autumn should be very little interfered 

 with. If any pruning is requisite, it is 

 best done by rubbing off buds and by 

 pinching in shoots which would interfere 

 with the proper shape of the bush. At the 

 end of the season cut back all leading 

 shoots to two-thirds of their length, so as 



