126 GARDENING DIFFICULTIES SOLVED 



made by Messrs. G. Bunyard and Co., the Royal Nurseries, Maid- 

 stone, is said to be a certain cure. 



Pruning Gooseberry Bushes 



Q. Will you please tell me when is the proper time to prune 

 Gooseberry bushes ? B. J. (7., Melton Mowbray. 



A. The best time to prune Gooseberry bushes is in March, just 

 before they start into growth, because birds during severe weather 

 are very destructive to the buds. If they are pruned too early, 

 there is a danger of the few buds left after pruning being destroyed. 

 If all the branches are left on until spring, the birds are not so 

 likely to do serious harm. If you have the means of protecting your 

 trees from the birds, you may prune them any time between Novem- 

 ber and March. 



Pruning Pear Trees 



Q. My Pear trees bear little fruit, they are a mass of growth. 

 Ought I to thin out the latter 1 Anxious, Sale. 



A. There are too many small spurs bearing only leaf buds on 

 your trees. These, when they are fully developed in summer, crowd 

 the trees to such an extent that a minimum amount of sunshine? 

 light, and air penetrates amongst the branches of the trees. As a 

 consequence weak and unripe growth results, which cannot possibly 

 produce remunerative crops of fruit. The best way of remedying 

 this in your case is by disbudding. This means the act of rubbing 

 away, with the finger and thumb, the weakest of the young shoots, 

 which will appear on these spurs towards the end of April or the 

 beginning of May, as soon as they are from i to \ inch long. There 

 will probably appear on each of the spurs from three to five of these 

 young leaf growths ; in the case of the former, one, the weakest, 

 should be rubbed off, and in the case of the latter, three of the 

 weakest should be similarly rubbed off. 



Myrobella Plum Hedge 



Q. One side of my garden has a hedge formed of Myrobella Plum. 

 Will you please inform me how to keep same trimmed so as not to 

 take up too much room ? L. J/. f Catford. 



A. If the hedge iu question is taking too much space, you may 

 cut the side shoots back severely in the autumn, or not later than the 

 end of February next. Young shoots will grow in spring, and these 

 may be cut in in July. 



