GOOSEBERRIES. 



223 



of the bush into the shoots that are to be 

 retained. 



In winter, these summer-pinched laterals 

 should be cut back to an inch in length, but 

 the extended new shoots will only require a 



Fig. 1020.— Fruiting Shoot of Spineless Gooseberry. 



few inches of the unripe tips cut off, taking- 

 care to always cut to a bud pointing outwards 

 for an erect growing variety, or upwards for a 

 drooping variety. 



For bushes of good size it is desirable to 

 retain some young shoots their full length, or 

 nearly so, to replace old, worn-out branches, 

 which should be cut away, thus securing a 

 supply of young shoots throughout the bush. 

 This annual renewal of shoots will keep the 



bush in vigorous health. At the same time, 

 there must be no overcrowding through neglect 

 of summer pruning. 



A Gooseberry bush thus pruned fruits freely 

 on the spurs formed along the entire length of 

 the main branches, as well as on the annual new 

 shoots. The older spurs, from their position, 

 can only be kept vigorous and fruitful for 

 successive years by the free admission of air 

 and light. A larger crop and finer fruit of 

 better quality can be got from bushes thus 

 pruned than from bushes in which the young 

 shoots are all cut hard back, resulting in a 

 thicket of shoots which smother all the lateral 

 shoots growing inside the bush. 



A model Gooseberry bush may be described 

 as having main branches thinly disposed, fur- 

 nished throughout with vigorous fruiting-spurs, 

 and maintained so by the annual extension and 

 addition of young wood. 



When there is an equal degree of vigour in 

 the respective branches, the tree will be more 

 healthy than if some were allowed to be too 

 weak in consequence of others becoming too 

 strong, and the fruit will also be finer flavoured. 

 The largest fruit is, however, produced on vigor- 

 ous shoots of the preceding summer; and there- 

 fore, when size is the object, young shoots must 

 be encouraged to supply the place of old wood, 

 which must be cut away. 



Mr. Saul of Lancaster has placed it on 

 record that the Lancashire growers, who excel 

 in growing very large Gooseberries for prizes, 

 transplant the young plants with three shoots 

 in the first instance, only they incline them 

 nearly to a horizontal position. For this pur- 

 pose they employ hooked sticks to pull down 

 the shoots that are inclined to grow upright, 

 and forked ones to support those that are in- 

 clined to grow too drooping. B} r next autumn 

 these three shoots will have produced a number 

 of lateral shoots, most of which may be cut 

 back to one eye, and the others to half their 

 length. The less the number of shoots, and 

 the younger the tree, the larger will be the 

 fruit. In November the tree is pruned so as to 

 consist of the three primary shoots, each bear- 

 ing two young shoots, which are shortened to 

 about 7 inches in length. These last are 

 pruned in the following autumn so as to have 

 only two young shoots each; all the others 

 being closely cut off. 



The system of pruning and thinning he recom- 

 mends is to keep a moderate and constant 

 supply of strong healthy young shoots, from 

 which alone can be expected large and line 



