CHAPTER VIII 



THE GOOSEBERRY 



By GEORGE BUNYARD 



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Raising from Cutting and Foeming 

 Gooseberry Bush 



{/) Cutting of strong, well-ripened shoot, cut 

 transversely below a joint, the top short- 

 ened so that the cutting is lo to 12 

 inches long, all eyes and spines removed 

 to a height of 6 inches from the base, 

 three or four (as in the sketch) buds 

 left at the upper part to form branches. 

 Insert firmly in the soil 4 inches deep 

 in autumn ; if many are inserted the 

 cuttings should be 6 inches apart in the 

 rows, and the rows i foot asunder, leav- 

 ing out every fifth row, thus forming 

 beds ; {m) one-year-old bush marked 

 for pruning {cross lines) each shoot to 

 about four good buds, the object being 

 to originate two vigorous growths from 

 each branch. The bush may be started 

 with three branches ; dotted lines indi- 

 cate eight branches formed. 



ened, so that ultimately a bush, 



This flourishes in all garden soils, but 

 thrives best in districts where the air is 

 tempered by cool nights, heavy dews, and 

 frequent rains. Gooseberries are very gross 

 feeders, and will benefit by applications of 

 the strongest manures, as fish refuse, fish 

 and meat guano, pig and cow manure, 

 which, if dug well into the ground before 

 February, add both to the size and quality 

 of the fruits. When the bushes are planted 

 in gravelly or sandy soils a mulching of 

 fresh stable manure applied in March will 

 greatly benefit them, and during a dry spring 

 and summer will keep the surface of the 

 ground cool and moist, and thus prevent its 

 cracking. Neither will the fruits be dis- 

 figured and damaged by soil splashed up by 

 heavy rains. 



Pruning. — If gooseberries are planted 

 before Christmas it is best to cut back the 

 shoots, say, to three or four buds, and in the 

 case of upright growing varieties prune to 

 a bud pointing outwards ; but with goose- 

 berries of a weeping habit of growth, the 

 outside or lower branches should be cut to 

 a bud pointing inwards, to encourage the 

 shoots upwards, otherwise the berries may 

 be spoilt by soil splashed up in wet weather. 

 The shoots resulting from this pruning 

 should be trained so as to form the shape 

 of a basin ; remove all useless shoots, cut- 

 ting them back to three buds. Should the 

 bushes not make enough shoots the first 

 year to form a good base, the few will be 

 naturally strong, and should be again short- 

 with regularly disposed branches, may be 



