OCT.] THE FRUIT-GARDEN. 517 



may with great propriety, be planted where they are to remain 

 for fruiting: Old gooseberry bushes seldom bear large fruit after 

 being transplanted, unless they are carefully removed with large 

 balls of earth round their roots. 



Previous to planting, each young tree should be pruned up to 

 one clean stem of eight, to ten, or twelve inches, before you form 

 the head ; for when they are suffered to branch away immediately 

 from the bottom, they by spreading out so near the ground, will 

 impede the growth of any crops that grow near them, and in the 

 occasional and very necessary business of manuring, digging, hoe- 

 ing, weeding, Sec. will be very troublesome to work between. 



For further observations on the planting of gooseberries, see 

 pages, 130 and 284. 



Pruning and Propagating Gooseberries. 



The latter part of this month and the entire of the next, will be a 

 very suitable season for the pruning of gooseberries. It is a prac- 

 tise too common in pruning these trees, to let them branch out 

 with long naked stems, suffering them to remain in that state for 

 many years. When that is already the case, they should be cut 

 down, or considerably shortened, to promote a free growth of healthy, 

 young shoots, which will bear fruit abundantly the second 

 year. But for general instructions on this head see page 24. 



You may now plant cuttings of the various kinds of gooseberries 

 which you wish to propagate ; for the necessary instructions, see 

 page 284. 



Note. New varieties of gooseberries may be obtained by sowing 

 seeds of the best kinds you are able to procure, either in this, or 

 any of the autumn months, in beds in the open ground, or in boxes 

 of good earth. From these sowings the plants will rise freely 

 in spring,- and by the autumn or spring following, may be planted 

 in nursery rows, to remain another season, after which they are 

 to be finally planted out for fruiting : or they may remain where 

 planted from the seed-bed till they shew specimens of fruit ; then 

 those that are good are to be taken due care of, the others, which, 

 by the bye, will be the far greater number, may be thrown away. 



If the seed is kept out of the ground till spring, scarcely any of 

 it will vegetate till that time twelve months ; therefore, it is ne- 

 cessary either to sow it in autumn, or to preserve it in damp earth 

 or sand, till February, or March. If sown in autumn cover it near 

 half an inch deep with loose, rich earth, but if in spring, a quarter 

 of an inch will be sufficient. 



Planting Raspberries. 



There are many varieties of the Rubus idtzus, or European 

 raspberry, but the most preferable are the large common red, the 

 large common white, the red Antwerp, and the white Antwerp 

 raspberries. 



