GOOSBBBEEY 



HABDY FRUIT GARDEN goosebeeey 1093 



remain, they not only choke up the centre 

 of the bush, stopping air and hght and 

 preventing ripening of the wood, but they 

 also absorb a good deal of sap that would 

 be useful to the main shoots for swelling 

 the fruit-buds for the following season. 

 Attention to this little detail of summer 

 pruning will be as beneficial to Goose- 

 berries as to Apples, Pears &c. The 

 illustration, fig. 160, shows a branch of 

 the Gooseberry. The portion marked a 

 shows the young growth with wood- 

 buds at w ; while at b the flower-buds are 

 shown at/. 



Mulching. — When 

 the fruits are well set 

 in spring, a good layer 

 of litter or manure 

 may be placed roimd 

 the plants. This 

 mulching will increase 

 the size and flavour 

 of the fruits, keep 

 down weeds, and pre- 

 vent undue evapora- 

 tion from the soil 

 during the hot 

 weather. In winter 

 the remains of it may 

 be forked into the soil 

 after the bushes are 

 pruned and tidied up 

 for the following 

 season. 



Propag^ation. — 

 Gooseberries are best 

 increased by means of 

 cuttings, but may also 

 be increased by seeds 

 when new varieties 

 are desired, by layers, 

 and by suckers. As 

 methods are rarely 

 practised, it is only necessary to refer 

 here to cuttings. These should be not 

 less nor more than 12-15 in. long, and 

 should consist of stout well-ripened shoots 

 as straight as possible. All the buds, 

 except three or four good ones on the 

 upper half of the cutting, should be rubbed 

 off with the finger and thumb or a sharp 

 knife. From the time the leaves drop 

 until the end of November is the best 

 period for inserting Gooseberry cuttings. 

 They should be put about 3 or 4 in. deep 

 into a fairly light rich loamy soil, and 

 about 6 in. apart each way. The soil 

 should be packed round them firmly, 

 and they req^uire Uttle attention beyond 



FIG. 160. — GOOSEBERRY. 



the last three 



keeping the weeds down, until the follow- 

 ing autumn. Then they may be trans- 

 planted if they have made good growth, 

 or if not too close together may be 

 allowed to remain where they are for 

 another year. They should, however, be 

 transplanted at least once before they are 

 finally moved to their permanent quarters, 

 as this induces a good fibrous root system. 

 As a rule, the fourth year, but sometimes 

 the third, according to vigour and the 

 variety, the plants from cuttings are 

 shifted for the last time. 



The pruning of young plants from 

 cuttings is a rather important operation, 

 and should not be neglected, as the shape 

 and usefulness of the future bush depend 

 upon it. When the three or four buds left 

 on the cutting develop they each make 

 growths a foot or more long the first 

 season. These growths in winter must , 

 each be cut back to three or four buds, and 

 the foot or so of stem below them should 

 also be kept quite clear of buds or 

 growths, so that it will make a strong leg 

 upon which the bush will ultimately 

 stand, and keep its branches and fruits 

 out of the soil. The second season the 

 buds of the shortened shoots will each 

 make growths, and in winter these are cut 

 back to three or four buds in the same way. 

 There will thus be 12 to 16 main shoots 

 forming the framework of the bush at the 

 beginning of the third year. The buds 

 on each of them will push forth growths 

 during the season, but at pruning it is 

 not necessary to cut them back so severely 

 as on the two previous occasions. About 

 9-12 in. of each may be left, and so on 

 each year until the bush has reached the 

 required dimensions, when the ordinary 

 pruning operations described above for 

 estabUshed plants become the general 

 practice. 



Training' Gooseberries. — Although 

 usually grown in bush form, Gooseberries 

 are amenable to training against walls 

 and trelhses much in the same way as 

 Apples, Pears &c. Of late years they 

 have been grown successfully in pots in 

 many places where orchard houses exist 

 for the early production of other fruits, 

 like Apples, Pears, Plums, Cherries, 

 Peaches, and Nectarines, the culture of 

 which in pots is becoming every year 

 more popular (see p. 1040). 



In warm localities Gooseberries may 

 be trained against a north wall vpith 

 excellent results. The fruits ripen later 



