Hints on Vegetable and Fruit Farming. 19 



cially, is to improve land in an extraordinary degree, more 

 particularly in these days, and owners of land should encourage 

 this by taking upon themselves a fair share of the cost, and by 

 guaranteeing just compensation. 



Supposing all difficulties of this kind adjusted, the farmer 

 willing to try fruit-growing cannot do better than plant red 

 currant, or black currant, or gooseberry-bushes, either by them- 

 selves or with standard or half-standard apple-trees among them, 

 or plum- and damson-trees, or pear-trees, according to circum- 

 stances. He must select a fairly good soil and the best-sheltered 

 situation. 



Gooseberry and red currant-bushes do well on light, porous 

 land or in good loam and clay-loartis. Black currants require a 

 deep soil, retentive of moisture, and will thrive in all the better 

 descriptions of clay land. These bushes should be set 6 feet 

 apart each way, which would take 1210 bushes. The land 

 should be well manured and deeply steam ploughed, or ploughed 

 deeply, with a subsoil-plough following. If standards are put 

 in they should be set, if apple-trees, from 24 to 30 feet apart 

 each way, which v/ould give 75 and 48 trees respectively 

 per acre. Plum and damson-trees would be put about 15 feet 

 apart each way, or 193 trees per acre. Should no standards 

 be planted, the bashes may be put 5J feet apart each way, 

 giving 1440 to the acre. Upon strong land black currants 

 should be set 6 feet apart, as their growth is very Ijixuriant. 



Gooseberries. — The plants are easily raised by taking 

 straight pieces of the cuttings 8 inches in length from the 

 bushes, and setting them in rows, in a nursery in the autumn, 

 without taking out any of the eyes, or buds. In two years they 

 will be fit to plant out if carefully tended, and in two years 

 after they will have fruit worth picking. Good plants can be 

 bought in fruit-growing districts at from 65. ^d. to 125. per 100. 

 Pruning is done from October until the end of January. The 

 rank-growing shoots and branches are cut away, and a moderate 

 supply of young wood is left in the bush, which should be 

 shaped like a cup. The branches should be trained to droop 

 somewhat. If cut in this way they do not feel the effects of 

 spring frosts so much as if they were left to grow quite upright. 

 The choice of the sorts of gooseberries must in a degree depend 

 upon the locality, but in most places those named below may 

 safely be planted. For example, the Whitesmith is a capital 

 gooseberry for picking green, and comes early, but is not so 

 good for sale when ripe, as consumers like red fruit best, 

 which always has a bitter flavour. The Early Sulphur is also 

 good for picking green. When ripe it is yellow, and of second- 

 rate quality. The Crown Bob is a famous sort, with a large 



