332 GRAPES, STRAWBERRIES, BUSH FRUITS 



for several days without injury. Currants are usually 

 picked by pinching off the bunches, keeping the berries 

 perfect on the stems. Gooseberries are harvested by 

 stripping the branches and afterwards running the fruit 

 through a fanning machine to remove the leaves. 



Insects and Diseases. -- The gooseberry mildew and 

 leaf spot are two common fungous diseases, while the cur- 

 rant worm, the currant borer, and the San Jose scale are 

 the most injurious insects. 



The gooseberry mildew is especially troublesome upon 

 the English varieties of gooseberries and is more prevalent 

 in sections having a hot, dry climate. It appears as a cob- 

 weblike growth on the young foliage, killing or checking 

 its growth. The leaf spot appears as small brown spots 

 that cause the leaves to turn yellow and drop. The 

 bushes are often defoliated in midsummer by this disease, 

 which seriously weakens the plant and prevents the for- 

 mation of well-developed fruit buds for the following season. 



The small green worms found on the under side of the 

 leaves of the currants are hatched from eggs laid by a small 

 fly about the size of a house fly. The worms are first white, 

 later becoming green with black spots, and finally becoming 

 green tinged with yellow. They eat the leaves, often de- 

 foliating the bush in two or three days. The currant borer 

 is hatched from eggs laid near the tip of a shoot by a 

 small moth. The worms burrow down the center of the 

 shoot and give it a sickly appearance. 



Treatment. Currants should be sprayed, early in the 

 spring before the buds open, with strong lime-sulphur 

 solution for the San Jose scale. Just as the leaves are 

 expanding they should be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture or 

 dilute lime-sulphur solution, to which has been added 2 



