179 
The young shoots which are seen pushing upwards are 
pinched back five or six inches in 
A fruiting branch of gooseberry.— 
J. WRIGHT. 
length, as shown at (x x) 
in the illustration ; this 
will allow sun and air to 
reach the crop of fruit. A 
young shoot may here and 
there be left if there is 
room for its growth. Should 
fresh shoots show on those 
which have been cut back, 
they should be pinched 
again, so as to favour the 
formation of fruiting spurs. 
PRUNING THE STRAW- 
BERRY 
consists in trimming the 
roots at planting time, so 
as to favour the growth of 
the fibrous roots which will 
feed the plant, and later on 
in cutting all runners be- 
fore the fruiting season, 
and as soon as they make 
their appearance, Unless 
this is done the fruiting of 
the plant will be seriously 
checked. Even after the 
fruiting, some growers still 
remove the runners, and 
only leave them on if young 
plants are required. In 
fact, treat 
all runners 
as weeds 
the first season. 
much trouble. 
The illustration shows the de- 
sign of a convenient runner-cutter, which saves 
The crescent blade is of such a 
diameter that it will encircle one side of a straw- 
berry plant, and may be made with an are of 
about nine inches. 
The appliance is pushed 
down on one side of the plant, and then on the 
other side, thus cutting all runners spreading 
around. Where the ground is moist the leaves 
of the strawberry plants are mowed clean off in 
the winter, then gathered up with a rake and 
burned. This checks the spread of the leaf spot 
Strawberry runner- 
cutter. 
