- 288 



Receipt, 2 tons green gooseberries at 12 per ton . 24 o 

 Balance, to cover cost of planting, interest on capital, 



superintendence, etc 43 



The system of pruning in commercial plantations in Kent is 

 based on the principle that the younger wood bears the largest 

 and greatest number of berries, also that space between the boughs 

 is necessary for convenience in picking and affording light for the 

 production and development of the fruit. The boughs are not 

 usually spur-pruned though the tips of boughs are shortened and 

 the older boughs cut out so as to keep the bushes with young 

 strong wood. Suckers coming up from the ground or from stems 

 are broken off with the suckering iron, which discourages their 

 growing again, which would happen if pruned by knife. The boughs 

 of the bushes in some plantations spring up direct from the ground, 

 but for convenience in hoeing many growers prefer to have the 

 boughs spring out from a main stem above ground. When making 

 the cuttings for bushes to be grown on a leg, all the buds which 

 would be planted below ground are cut out, and only those to be 

 above ground are left. The disadvantage of being on a leg is that 

 if this main stem is broken the bush is spoilt, whilst if the boughs 

 spring direct from the ground, new growth of strong young boughs 

 is readily obtained. 



The usual plan for picking gooseberries is to make the picking 

 as thinnings of the berries, picking the largest and leaving the 

 smaller ones : thus for green gooseberries the bushes may be gone 

 over three times if the crop is good. Ripe gooseberries are usually 

 picked all at one picking. 



Green gooseberries travel well, and the package and handling 

 is not troublesome, but ripe gooseberries are very tender, and need 

 care in handling and quick sale. A plantation that will yield two 

 tons green will probably give three tons ripe, but it usually pays 

 best to sell them green ; green gooseberries are the first fruit picked 

 when labour is plentiful, whereas the pickers are busy with other 

 fruits when the gooseberries are ripe. The crop in Kent usually 

 varies from about i l / 2 up to 3 tons of ripe berries in mature plan- 

 tations. 



