Gardening for Amateurs 



997 



trees, is in October and November. Birds 

 often play great havoc among the buds in 

 spring, and the only practical remedies are 

 to sprinkle soot and lime on the branches 



Fig. 1. Young bush of Gooseberry: 

 //, Where to prune, g, Growth 

 on stem to be cut off. 



when moist or to shoot the birds. It is no less 

 important to protect the trees by netting 

 when the fruits are approaching ripeness. 



Pruning. The shoots of young Goose- 

 berries should be shortened back to five or 

 six buds ; in dealing with weakly growths 

 they may be cut back still closer (Fig. 1). 

 Each of the buds allowed to remain will 

 usually extend to a young shoot, and in the 

 succeeding year such drastic treatment will 

 not need repeating ; but it is advisable to 

 shorten the young shoots slightly, with little 

 other pruning for a year or two. As time 

 goes on the bushes will become too dense 

 and crowded unless pruning is carried out. 



There was a period when it was thought 

 essential to shorten back to spurs the young 

 growths of Gooseberries each year, but this 

 is not the best means of pruning to ensure 

 heavy crops of berries. Some varieties have 

 a drooping tendency of growth, and the 

 lower branches of these need special attention 

 to keep them off the soil. After cutting 

 away the lower growths that appear likely to 

 come in contact with the earth in the coining 



summer, cut away any branches which cross 

 and touch each other, slightly shortening 

 any young shoots which have made lengthy 

 growth. When the work is finished it should 

 be possible to pass the hand to any part of 

 the bush without difficulty (Fig. 2). 



Late pruning when growth is commencing in 

 spring is frequently recommended for Goose- 

 berries where birds are troublesome in pecking 

 out the buds. It is easy, however, to prevent 

 this trouble by threading the bushes with 

 black cotton after pruning, and where the 

 ordinary numbers are grown this is a simple 

 matter of but slight expense. One chief 

 object in pruning Gooseberries is to ensure 

 easy access not only for the light and air 

 but also for the hands of the pickers in 

 gathering the fruit. 



Summer pruning ought to be practised, 

 the side shoots being stopped at the fifth 

 or sixth leaf late in July, with the object of 

 assisting the development of fruit buds at 

 their base. 



One of the greatest faults to be found with 

 Gooseberry bushes in small gardens is that 

 they are usually far too overcrowded with 

 weak growths, owing to their not having 

 been pruned sufficiently. When bushes get 

 in this neglected state they are practically 

 worthless, as the fruit they produce is both 

 small and poor in quality. Old bushes must 



Fig. 2. Gooseberry bush of drooping habit : 

 Prune at h. 



be kept carefully thinned every year, for, 

 although it is essential to keep them furnished 

 with growths bearing young spurs, over- 

 crowding of the branches cannot be tolerated. 



