KIBES. 



particularly recommend planting a few againit a fouth or 

 weft wall, or paling, which will produce fruit much earlier 

 than in the quarters, &c. : alfo to plant fome between 

 other fruit-trees, on north walls, or palings, for later crops. 

 Thel'e may be covered with double nets, to preferve them 

 from birds ; tucking in a few fern branches between the two 

 nets, which will prevent the heat of the fun and drying 

 winds from fhrivelling the fruit. In the quarters they 

 fhould be covered with mats, for the fame purpofe ; at the 

 fame time permitting all the leaves to remain on the bufhes, 

 to (hade the fruit, and make it keep the longer in a proper 

 Hate. 



In what refpe&s the pruning of the bufhes, the work 

 may,- according to the above author, be begun in the month 

 of November, and continued till March, as it iuits the 

 planter's convenience. And they fhould never be left too 

 thick of wood ; but a great deal depends on the manage- 

 ment of them in fummer, to have ftrong and fine wood for 

 the following feafon. If they have been neglefted for fome 

 years, and fuffered to run up to long naked wood, they 

 mud, in his opinion, be cut down near the ground : they 

 will then fend forth fine ftrong fhoots. In this cafe, he 

 would recommend heading down every other tree, and cut- 

 ting the others partially, by taking out every other branch 

 as near as can be to the ground, unlefs they are trained up 

 with fingle items ; in which cafe, it will be neceffary to cut 

 them as near as poffible to where the branches begin to break 

 out and form the head. And in the winter pruning, the 

 ftrongeft and fineft fhoots fhould be preferved, leaving them 

 from nine to eighteen inches long, according to their 

 ftrength, and from eight to ten inches apart, and as regular 

 as poffible from top to bottom of the tree ; taking care to 

 cut out all the dead and weak fhoots. And particular at- 

 tention fhould be paid in fummer, keeping the middle of 

 the bufh open to admit the fun and air ; preferving the 

 fineft and ftrongeft fhoots that are neareft the Item, Some, 

 he remarks, are fond of training them up with fingle Hems, 

 to a confiderable height, to form fine round heads, which 

 are very ornamental, if not fuffered to run up too high ; as, 

 in that cafe, they are liable to be broken by the wind, if 

 not well fupported by ftakes. Care muft be taken not to 

 let the (hoots run to more than fix inches long, becaufe fuch 

 fhort fhoots will not be fo liable to be damaged by the wind 

 as long and weak ones are. efpecially when loaded with 

 fruit. He prefers dwarfs from three to four feet high. 



Further it is added, that the fame manner of pruning, &c. 

 will do for black currants ; but as they grow ftronger than 

 the red or white, the fhoots fhould be left thinner, and laid 

 in longer, which will make them produce larger and finer 

 fruit. And thofe againit walls and palings fhould have the 

 fhoots laid in thinner than thofe in the quarters, and trained 

 as horizontally as poffible ; fhortening them, in the winter 

 pruning, to a foot or eighteen inches, according to the 

 ftrength of the fhoots. 



As this fort of fruit 19 very liable to be devoured by ear- 

 ivigs, which take fhelter under their leaves and branches, 

 bundles of bean-ftalks mould, he fuggefts, be hung up 

 fome time before the bufhes are covered with mats or nets. 

 If proper attention be not paid to this, the fruit will gene- 

 rally fuffer very much from thefe infedts. After the bufhea 

 are covered, take the mats off once in three or four days, 

 and kill the earwigs that have got in the bean-ftalks, which 

 it will be neceffary ftill to keep hung up, As there is a 

 fweetnefs in the infide of bean-ftalks, which attrafts the ear- 

 wigs, they very readily take fhelter in them from rain. By 

 proper attention to thefe directions, thefe deitructive infefts 

 may be kept under, and the greater part of the fruit be 



preferved. It is alfo neceffary to carefully ftock up all 

 fuckers at the roots of the trees, and keep them as clean as 

 poffible ; otherwife they will prevent the fun and air from 

 penetrating to the roots, and greatly weaken and injure the 

 trees. 



Thefe plants are very liable to be infefted with aphides, 

 and other infedts, from which they fhould be freed as foon 

 as poffible, by proper picking, wafhing, and liming. 



Culture in the Goofeberry Kind.— .AW thefe are ca*pable of 

 being raifed by cuttings and layers, as well as feeds for new 

 varieties. They are hkewife fometimes increafed by fuck. - 

 but this laft is not an advifeable method, as the plants raifed 

 in this way are more apt to throw out fuckers than t: 

 from cuttings or feed. The cuttings fhould be made from 

 the ftrongeft and cleaneft fhoots, and have the length of 

 feven or eight inches, being planted out in the early autumn, 

 in a border which has an eaftern or northern afpect, at the 

 diltance of about a foot from row to row, and having only 

 about three or four inches of each cutting above the ground ; 

 as by this means they may be kept clean bv hoeing. Thi y 

 require to be frequently watered in the fpring feafon, win 1 

 the weather is dry. 



Alfo the layers may be laid down any time in the autumn 

 or fpring feaion, in the common way, when they readily 

 ftrike root ; and in the following autumn, may be taken 

 off, and planted out where they are to remain, or in nur- 

 fery-rows, to get ftrength to be finally planted out. 



And the feed obtained from the ripened berries fhould 

 be fown in the autumn, or very early fpring, in a bed 

 of fine light mould. The plants come up readily, and 

 fhould be kept perfectly clear from weeds ; and when they 

 have had one or two years' growth, may be removed into 

 nurfery-rows, in the fame manner as the currants, to remain 

 till they become fit for being planted out. In this way 

 good new varieties may be procured. Mr. Forfyth re- 

 marks, that the gardeners in the vicinity of Manchefter 

 have made great additions to the varieties of this fruit ; and 

 by mixing up a rich foil to plant them in, carefully water- 

 ing, fhading, and thinning the fruit, have brought the berries 

 to a fize much larger than had been before met with in this 

 country ; but that thofe of fome of the layers are much 

 thicker in the (kin, and not fo well flavoured as many of the 

 old forts. 



In molt parts of Lancafhire, this is indeed a kind of fruit 

 which is uncommonly fine, and of a very large fize, in both 

 the red and white kinds ; and in many of the fouthern and 

 fouth-eaftern parts, very great attention, in numerous in- 

 ftances, is bellowed in the cultivation and improvement of 

 it, fo as to render it of an unufual magnitude and fine ap- 

 pearance. This is chiefly effected by much more pruning 

 and thinning than that which is generally had recourfe to 

 with thefe forts of plants, frequent digging about them, and 

 a very liberal ufe of well rotted liable dung incorporated 

 with the mould which is applied near their roots. 



As to the methods of planting out this fort of plants, 

 they are extremely various. According to Mr. Forfyth, 

 the market gardeners in the vicinity of the metropolis let 

 them out in rows from eight to ten feet apart, and fix from 

 plant to plant. In cafes of this fort, he recommends that 

 they fhould be pruned in the autumn, as about the begin- 

 ning of October, when the ground between them may be 

 planted with coleworts, or beans for a fpring crop ; and by 

 io doing, there will be no occafion to tread over the ground, 

 and hurt the coleworts, in pruning the bufhes ; as, before 

 the goofeberries begin to (hoot, the coleworts will be all 

 cleared off the ground. And after this time, (or before, 

 if you find it convenient,) a good coat of rotten dung fhould 

 9 be 



