336 PRUNING THE GOOSEBERRY. 



The Gooseherry. Maher states that if tlie goose- 

 berry bush is crowded with superfluous shoots of 

 the present season, they should be thinned so that 

 the fruit will not have want of light and air ; but 

 this pruning must be moderate. At the winter 

 pruning, in early spring, all the unnecessary growths 

 can be removed, together with those which bend too 

 low and drag upon the earth. The finest specimens 

 of this fruit are produced upon the young wood of 

 the preceding year. In general the shoots may not 

 be pruned at all, except when they extend beyond 

 the limits, when they may be cut back to eight or 

 ten inches, but not shorter, for it would induce a 

 superfluity of wood. The gooseberry bush is seldom 

 retained in bearing for many years in the gardens 

 of the most successful growers. It bears its best 

 fruit during the fourth or fifth year, after which it 

 depreciates each season. The gooseberry is the 

 pride of some gardeners, and great pains are taken 

 to make the bush beautiful as well as productive. 

 Those varieties which are naturally upright in their 

 growth should be planted at a distance of five 

 feet. A central stem is carried up, and from it the 

 branches proceed, which are cut back so as to form 

 the bush like a pyramid. The limbs are not allowed 

 to start within a foot of the ground. When the 

 plants have completed their groAvth, they will be 

 about six feet high. The weeping sorts do not 

 reach more than half that. 



