238 THE GOOSEBERRY. 



Propagation. Seed should be sown in rich loam, covered half an 

 inch d ep, and shaded from all but morning sun. This course is only 

 advisable where production of new varieties is the object. The most 

 general mode of propagating is by cuttings. These should be made 

 of the new wood of present year, say in August, or early in Septem- 

 ber, or as soon as the season's growth is completed and the wood 

 ripened. The cutting should be about ten inches long, with all buds 

 on the lower six inches cut out, and the lower end cut square and 

 even, immediately underneath the bud. Plant perpendicularly in a 

 soil two feet deep, composed of loam arid sand, and exposed only to 

 the morning sun ; set the cuttings six inches deep, fill up two inches, 

 and tread very firm and compact, the remaining four inches fill in 

 loosely. Grafting on the stalk of the Yellow-flowering or Missouri 

 currant, has been practiced, and is said to prevent mildew. 



Transplanting. This is best done in early October, at which time 

 the bushes transplanted (if it has not been previously done) should 

 be pruned back to within three buds of this year's growth. The dis- 

 tance of plants, one from another, should not be less than three feet 

 each way. Immediately after transplanting, cover the whole ground 

 with three inches deep of tan bark, saw-dust, sea-weed, or new-mown 

 grass. Fresh plantations should be made every five or six years, as 

 young plants bear better and larger fruit than old ones. 



Soil and Situation. The soil should be two feet deep, well en- 

 riched, and of a loamy, clayey texture ; where your ground is sandy, 

 haul on clay or turf loam. The situation should be open, airy, and 

 away from under shade of trees ; but where it can be done, shaded 

 from the mid-day sun by a fence or hedge. 



Culture. Where mulching is practiced, the ground dug up once 

 early in Spring and liberally supplied with well rotted manure and 

 soot from chimneys or stove-pipes, will be all required, save the pull- 

 ing of the few weeds which struggle through the mulch in course of 

 Summer. 



Pruning. This, in training the Gooseberry, like the Dwarf Pear, 

 consists much in the " pinching-in" process, i. e., by means of thumb 

 and finger, stopping back, in months of May and June, such branches 

 as become straggling, irregular, or getting too much vigor for success 

 of balance of plant ; leaving the fruit on strong branches, and pull- 

 ing most of that on weak ones. Late in August, or early September, 

 the time best suited for cuttings, the plant may have such shoots cut 

 out as have been neglected to be stopped in or rubbed off, and are 

 tending to make the top so thick as to obstruct free circulation of air. 

 All suckers should be destroyed. Some cultivators prune in Febru- 

 ary ; we prefer the Fall. The following simple process of training 

 or ripening is sometimes pursued, and with good success : In a row, 

 the first bush has the branches of the year's growth cut back one 

 third ; the second bush has every branch cut back to two, close* to the 



