THE PRACTICE OF PRUNING. 



391 



The Goosebeeey-btjsh. 



Left to its natural growth, the Gooseberry 

 beoomes an almost impenetrable thicket, not 

 at all adapted for producing such fine fruit as 

 is produced by plants properly cultivated and 

 pruned. 



In the aeoompanjTiig out it will be seen 

 that the ■wood-buds, a, a, a, a, are on the last 

 summer's shoot, whilst the fruit-buds, 6, 6, 6, h, 

 are on two-years old wood, and produce the 

 largest and finest fruit, but they may be seen 

 on wood much older. The buds marked a, 

 are called wood-buds, because from them young 

 shoots are produced, but usually not from all 

 of them ; for it appears, that of the buds on 

 the two-years old wood, which, a twelvemonth 

 back, were similar to those now marked a, 

 three had produced shoots, c, e, o, and the 

 others formed the fruit-buds, b, b, b, b. 



After the plants have formed shoots, these 

 must be shortened according to their strength ; 

 if moderately strong, to about six inches. In 

 shortening, care must be taken to cut to a bud 

 pointing the most towards the direction which 

 the branch should follow, in order to complete 

 the form in which the plants are intended to 

 be kept. The general mode is to keep the 

 bush hoUow in the middle, and six, eight, or 

 ten branches, at ec^ual distances, or as nearly 

 so as possible. If two branches are likely 

 to approach too near each other, one or both 

 must be cut to buds pointing in the opposite 

 direction ; thus, in the accompanying figure, 

 supposing the branch were intended to be 

 prolonged more towards the left, then the 

 young shoot is properly cut, as represented, 

 for the uppermost bud a to proceed in that 

 direction. On the contrary, if the uppermost 

 bud a had been on the inside of a shoot, of 

 which it would have been desirable that the 

 dii-ection should be outwards, towards the 

 right, then it would have been entirely wrong 

 to out at that bud. 



Observing thus to out at proper buds, each 

 leading branch may be made to diverge out- 



Fig. LXXX.— Shoot of Goose- 

 berry-bush. 



o,, «, a, a, wood-buds. 

 i,t,b, i, fruit-buds. 

 c, c, c, young shoots out back. 



