THE BUSH FRUITS 205 



breaks off, when the larva works down into the cane, 

 often destroying from one to two feet in length. This 

 pest is destroyed by cutting off the cane a little below 

 the injury as soon as the wilting is discovered. A leaf- 

 blight fungus often comes upon the leaves of the cur- 

 rant before the fruit is ripe, causing them to fall and 

 leave the bushes bare for the rest of the season, thus 

 weakening them so that the growth the next year is 

 very poor, and in some cases killing the bushes in a 

 few years. This may be prevented by the use of the 

 Bordeaux mixture applied before the buds open, as 

 soon as the fruit has set, and again as soon as the fruit 

 has been gathered. This spraying and that for the cur- 

 rant worm is done by adding one-fourth pound of helle- 

 bore to fifty gallons of the Bordeaux. 



THE GOOSEBERRY. 



This is a desirable fruit for making jams and pre- 

 serves, and is easily grown, but there is little demand 

 for it in any but the very large markets. It requires the 

 same kind of soil as the currant and the same treatment 

 as to cultivation, pruning, and insect and fungous pests. 

 Gooseberry bushes are most easily propagated by laying 

 the lower branches, stooling i.e., cutting the bushes 

 close to the ground and allowing numerous shoots to 

 grow out at the stumps, and mounding up moist soil 

 about them, when roots will form upon the base of each 

 shoot. The principal difficulty in growing the goose- 

 berry, especially the English varieties, is a mildew that 

 attacks the fruit and leaves. This is remedied in part 

 by the Bordeaux mixture. Most of the American seed- 

 lings are comparatively free from this disease. 



The fruit of the currant and gooseberry is sold in 

 quart strawberry baskets packed in the 32-quart crate, 

 the currants selling for from eight to fifteen cents per 



