364 BUSH-FRUITS 



well established before the advent of cold weather. 

 This is one of the hardiest fruits, but the grower 

 who withholds the proper care in planting will inevi- 

 tably reap the recompense for his ill doing. 



AFTER TREATMENT 



Since the gooseberry is subject to greater injury 

 from drought than the currant, there is the more 

 urgent need of complete and thorough cultivation. 

 As with the currant, it should be shallow but fre- 

 quent. Hardness and dryness of the soil are espe- 

 cially injurious. The better the cultivation, the cooler 

 and moister can the soil be kept, and hence the nearer 

 will be the approach to the normal conditions under 

 which the gooseberry is happy and its fruit grows fat. 

 Like the proper selection of soil and location, suitable 

 cultivation will materially aid in preserving the health 

 of the plants and preventing mildew, though by no 

 means a remedy for that disease. Mulching also suc- 

 ceeds well, preserving the soil in a cool and moist 

 condition even better than cultivation. 



PRUNING 



Left to itself, the gooseberry soon becomes a 

 tangled thicket, the fruit in consequence being small 

 and difficult to pick. It produces much more wood 

 than ought to remain for each year's fruiting. It 

 is imperative that this be reduced, if the best results 

 are to be hoped for. The particular manner in which 



