286 Bush-Fruits 



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 layering, and the plants will be in condition to make 

 a much better growth when planted out than cuttings 

 taken without previous layering. 



Spring is a busy season with the nurseryman and 

 fruit-grower, and the gooseberry is very impatient at the 

 approach of warm weather. For this reason 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 princi- 

 pally or exclusively for the production of plants, they 

 should be set in rows eight feet apart and close together 

 in the row. This will facilitate 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, are likely to throw up suckers 

 from the roots. When the fashion was to grow the plants 

 only in tree form this was considered a serious fault. Bent 

 layers may be employed in a small way. By this method, 

 the branches are held beneath the soil by a forked peg 

 and the tip allowed to grow upward. A slit is made on 



