346 AMERICAN HOME GARDEN. 



near grape-vines or peach-trees, &c., and high manuring with 

 compost from year to year, and sowing lime, sulphur, or ashes 

 over them repeatedly when in blossom and young fruit ; but it 

 is scarcely probable that the cultivation of gooseberries can be- 

 come general among us, unless, either from those now in repu- 

 tation or from some of our own wild ones, new seedling varie- 

 ties, exempt from the disease, may be produced. The English 

 have a fancy for raising them of monstrous size for exhibition, 

 leaving on the bush only a few berries, and supporting these 

 so that they do not hang, but rest and fatten. The berry, when 

 ripe, is of a very mild, yet lively and pleasant acid, or rather 

 vinous flavor, the very large kinds never being in this respect 

 equal to the smaller. While green, they are used for tarts, 

 &c., having a very strong, rough acid, a part of which 'should 

 be leached off by scalding the fruit before it is used, and pour- 

 ing off the water when cooled. But for these purposes the pie- 

 plant affords a better acid, and is much more easily raised and 

 handled. 



Gooseberry bushes should stand in rows from four to six feet 

 apart each way, and be kept on one stem, with but few bearing 

 snoots, and all offshoots suppressed. Every winter, with a light 

 pair of pruning shears, shorten the last season's shoots, cutting 

 the strong ones to about half their length, those of medium 

 growth to about one fourth, and those that are weak close to 

 the point from which they started ; and keep the bushes regu- 

 larly and thoroughly manured. The plants are readily raised 

 from layers or cuttings. See pages 197 and 198. 



The kinds named in the nursery catalogues are very numer- 

 ous, but among the red hairy varieties, that known as " Crown 

 Bob" bears the highest character, and " Whitesmith" among 

 the smooth-skinned green or yellow kinds. Houghton's Seed- 

 ling is the only American variety of reputation, and is exempt 

 from mildew. 



Rough or hairy gooseberries are more uniformly well flavored 

 than the smooth varieties, and I incline to think the red ones 

 generally better than the green or yellow, yet the finest flavored 

 known variety is a grass-green hairy berry, so small as to be 

 profitless. 



