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or four inches, or less if the tree has gained its full 

 size, care being taken to get the boughs well above 

 the ground to prevent the fruit being spoiled by the 

 soil washed in the rains. 



BLACK CURRANTS require to be heavily pruned, 

 and the work should be so arranged that old wood is 

 cut away every year, as, if allowed to grow tall, the 

 crop being mostly on the points of the shoots, causes 

 the branches to break off, whereas if the trees are 

 kept low in the way indicated, there is always young 

 wood, and the only care required is to thin this out, 

 removing weakly and ill-placed shoots, retaining the 

 strongest and best those with prominent buds. Black 

 Currants are best cut back to four eyes the first year 

 of planting, and Red Currants the same. 



GOOSEBERRIES should be pruned hard for a year or 

 two. If allowed to bear too freely when young, the 

 bushes become stunted and checked, and do not recover 

 for a time. If planted early, they may be cut back 

 before planting, and are then easier to set. The 

 object in pruning Gooseberries is to raise the main 

 branches off the ground, otherwise the fruit gets dirty, 

 and to cut in such a way that the tree forms some 

 stout young wood every year ; preference being given 

 to those shoots that stand up with an outward bend. 

 The fruit of recently planted trees would be better 

 gathered green the first year, as the tree has then a 

 chance to recover itself the same season. Gooseberries 

 are usually grown on a leg (a stem of 6 to 8 inches), 

 as the land can be more readily cleaned, and it keeps 

 the fruit from the soil, but some planters prefer them 

 without a leg, as there is then a chance of re-making 

 a tree if branches are broken off; especially the 

 Lancashire Lad variety. 



