VARIOUS SPECIES OF FRUITS 133 



Gooseberry bushes imported from England are three years old, 

 10 to 12 inches long with one straight trunk as thick as a finger, a 

 clump of roots at one end and a cluster of branches at the other. In 

 Canada they sometimes cost as little as 10 cents each, in the United 

 States perhaps twice as much as a rule for the same varieties. The 

 object of this tree form is to insure the absolutely necessary free cir- 

 culation of air beneath the branches. English growers never allow 

 Gooseberries to sprawl over the ground to encourage mildew i 



As this form is difficult to maintain, Mr. Whyte tried other 

 methods of training. He never allows shoots to develop from below 

 ground but encourages the development of only three or four main 

 branches from the upper part of the trunk. All growths on these 

 branches are either shortened to "spurs" three or four inches long or 

 removed entirely. Thus there is a circle of short branches around each 

 stem. All shoots inclined to grow along the ground are cut off as 

 soon as discovered and all that grow too lustily are pinched back while 

 their tips are soft in Summer. As soon as the crop has been gathered 

 is a better time than in the following Spring to prune for next year's 

 crop. Better fruit and better success follow late Summer pruning 

 because in Spring pruning more or less fruiting wood is destroyed, 

 whereas in Fall pruning its formation is encouraged. 



It is not wise to cultivate at all deeply around the plants in 

 Spring. Whatever digging is necessary should be done the latter part 

 of September or early October. At that time the bushes are slowing 

 down for Winter, so injuries are not only less serious, but the bushes 

 recover better than if they occur in Spring when the plants are active. 

 Mr. Whyte reports fifty per cent, better crops by following this plan. 

 Any cultivation in the Spring to keep the surface soil loose and prevent 

 weed troubles should be done very shallow. A scuffle hoe is excellent. 



Of the nearly 50 varieties he grew, Mr. Whyte speaks as follows: 

 "The general classification of berries by nurserymen is white, green, 

 yellow and red, the last two groups being the most popular. Of the 

 white the KEEPSAKE is a heavy cropper of large, fine-flavored berries. 

 WHITE is inferior in quality to KEEPSAKE but very resistant to mildew; 

 TRIUMPH, so closely resembles WHITESMITH there is no need of growing 

 both." (Mr. Whyte does not comment on WHITESMITH, which is 

 perhaps the best known English variety grown in America, a large, 

 yellowish white variety of excellent quality.) 



Among the green kinds, DELAWARE is one of the very best, a large, 

 fine-flavored berry; LOFTY has been continuously satisfactory for 

 twelve years, a rich, fine-flavored fruit; OVERALL is also a delicious 

 berry. The yellow varieties include WETHERALL, a dark greenish 

 yellow fruit of exceedingly high flavor. ALMA is "another very large 



