138 HIGGLE BERRY BOOK. 



bushes are set out and annually thereafter. A bone 

 and potash fertilizer should also be used, at the rate 

 of 600 to 1000 pounds per acre ; the bone to be in twice 

 the quantity of the potash, if home mixed. 



Planting distances should not be less than five by 

 five feet, if horse culture both ways is intended ; or six 

 by four feet if the patch is to be cultivated only one 

 way. 



Gooseberry bushes are multiplied by cuttings and 

 by layers, the same as with currants. Mound layer- 

 ing, practiced by nurserymen, consists in heading 

 back the bushes very severely in early spring, which 

 results in a multitude of young shoots. In July, when 

 these shoots have somewat hardened, a low mound of 

 earth is made directly upon the old crown, in and 

 among the young shoots. The earth is packed firmly 

 about the bases of the shoots, which strike root, and 

 may be removed and treated as independent plants in 

 the autumn. Cuttings may be set in the ground in 

 the fall or carried through the winter in a dormant 

 state in boxes of sand. If set in the ground they 

 should have only one bud above the surface, and in 

 cold weather should be covered with soil or mulch 

 to prevent the frost from heaving them up and 

 injuring them. 



The tree form is entirely feasible in gooseberry 

 culture, and is practiced in some gardens, but I think 

 the bush form with both gooseberries and currants is 

 generally preferable, even though sometimes involv- 

 ing more difficulty with grass and demanding more 

 hand weeding. It is easier to get young wood in case 

 of the bush than in case of the tree form. 



