PROPAGATING THE GOOSEBERRY 361 



the same autumn, but English varieties are left in 

 this position for two seasons. The last of October, or 

 before the ground freezes, the soil is thrown back, and 

 the shoots are cut away and trenched or buried in the 

 cellar for spring planting. In commercial work two 

 grades are commonly made. In spring they are 

 planted in nursery rows and cultivated for one year, 

 when they are ready to go on the market. Some 

 roots will have formed during the process of lay- 

 ering, and the plants will be in condition to make 

 a much better growth when planted out than cut- 

 tings taken without previous layering. 



Spring is a busy season with the nurseryman 

 and fruit-grower, and the gooseberry is so impatient 

 at the approach of warm weather that the layers are 

 often planted in nursery rows when removed from 

 the parent plants in fall, and mulched during winter. 

 In favorable climates this will prove satisfactory, but 

 where the winters are dry and open, as on the 

 plains, the loss of plants is likely to be large, unless 

 they are wholly covered with earth. If bushes are to 

 be managed principally or exclusively for the produc- 

 tion of plants, they should be set in rows eight feet 

 apart and close together in the row. This will facili- 

 tate the work of mounding and removing the soil in 

 layering, as much of it can be done with a plow. 



For home use, the suckers which spring up about 

 the base of the old plants may be removed and 

 planted. They commonly have some roots attached, 

 and grow readily. The older writers warn us against 

 their use, but apparently for the reason that they, too, 



