396 The Gooseberry. 
interplanted with cherry, apricot, apple, and pear, not so well 
when associated with plum and peach, and the almond is least 
desirable. The cultivation is such as is usually given to the 
orchard, except that in heavy soil the plow is not allowed to 
come near the cuttings the first season for fear of tearing them 
from their rooting. After the first year the plow is used in the 
winter and the cultivator in summer. 
Currants well repay generous applications of well-rotted 
manure, and relish sufficient moisture in the soil. Where this 
can not be had from rainfall, and retained by cultivation and 
mulching, irrigation must be resorted to. 
Pruning.—If the currant is to be grown in tree form, the 
branches from the upper buds of the cutting should be shortened 
in at the end of the first summer, and branches growing hori- 
zontally should be removed. The weaker shoots in the head 
are thinned out, but not so much as to leave the top too open. 
lf the plant is to grow as a bush, the only winter pruning will 
consist in removing dead wood, and thinning the new shoots as 
may seem desirable. Summer pinching of the new growth is 
desirable, as it causes the fruit to set closely and tends to a thick 
growth of foliage also, and this is necessary, for the bark is lia- 
ble to sunburn, and the best fruit is that which is well sheltered 
by the leaves. Another advantage of the bush form is the less 
likelihood of killing by borers, which is imminent when the 
growth depends upon a single stem. 
Bearing.—The currant bears a quantity of excellent frwt 
the second vear from the cutting, and reaches its fullest product 
about the fifth to the eighth year, when the yield in the Hay- 
wards region is said to range from one and a half to three tons 
to the acre. 
Varieties——The Cherry currant is the prevailing variety, 
although the old sorts, the Red and White Dutch, the Red and 
White Grape, etc., are grown in some localities, and Fay’s Pro- 
lific is approved by some growers. 
Black currants are but little grown, the market demand 
for them being very light. 
THE GOOSEBERRY: 
The gooseberry is another fruit with somewhat circum- 
scribed area in this State. In localities which favor it, the fruit 
is often found very profitable, but the demand does not warrant 
any great increase of product. Though the gooseberry thrives 
in some situations which do not suit the currant, they may both 
be described as averse to the hot and dry parts of the State. 
Still, for home use or local sale one can grow certain varieties of 
gooseberries successfully, by protecting them from too great 
exposure to the sun, and by keeping the soil sufficiently rich 
