124 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



giving each the cultivation that the plants require to realize good 

 crops, that at the end of the ten years the balance sheet would 

 show largely in favor of the former. In the first place much higher 

 cultivation and consequent increased cost of production, would be 

 required for strawberries ; the market is more fluctuating, conse- 

 quent upon greater competition, besides greater liability to damage 

 from bad weather, transportation, and, at times, an overstocked 

 market of so perishable a fruit. Besides this, the work of replant- 

 ing every two or three years is an expense not incurred in the 

 culture of the gooseberry. 



The Gooseberry Worm. There is one serious drawback in the 

 culture of the gooseberry that looks formidable to those that have 

 taken no pains to rid their bushes of the scourge. I refer to the 

 gooseberry worm. This is a hard customer, truly. But by hav- 

 ing a knowledge of its habits, and attending to the plants at the 

 right time, this obstacle is not so formidable as it at first seems. 



Soil and Situation. In starting a gooseberry plantation it is 

 quite essential that at the beginning the work be rightly done. A 

 good, retentive, strong soil is essential, and if free from stones all 

 the better ; and I should endeavor to give the land such a depth 

 of working before setting the plants that all after culture would 

 be very near the surface, and that mainly to keep the ground clear 

 from weeds. A situation where the snow is liable to blow off 

 entirely in the winter, is worse than where it might drift some- 

 what. A southerly or easterly exposure should be avoided when 

 practicable. A dry soil, a sunny exposure and a dry atmosphere, 

 are unfavorable to the culture of this fruit. 



What plants to set. In purchasing plants, or from whatever 

 source they. are obtained, it is best to procure those that were 

 started from cuttings or young plants from layers, having good 

 roots. Plants are quickly multiplied by layering, and with a little 

 pains one can easily produce his own plants by procuring a few 

 from the nursery and then bending down the ends and covering 

 them with earth. They quickly take root, and by care one can 

 soon raise a hundred plants with fine roots ; but if half a thousand 

 are wanted to set at once, the better — because quicker — way would 

 be to either plant cuttings or order from some reliable nursery- 

 man, who would furnish them, not to exceed six cents apiece, and 

 possibly considerably less by the quantity. 



Varieties. Of those I have grown I should give the preference 

 to Houghton's Seedling, but from what I hear of Smith's Im- 



