GOOSEBERRIES. 



225 



autumn, taking care in stirring the soil not to 

 injure the roots. The surface of the soil near 

 the stems ought to be drawn back towards the 

 middle of the space between them. Manure 

 should be plentifully supplied as mulchings on 

 the surface, and no digging allowed near the 

 roots. 



The very best quality Gooseberries, both as 

 to size and flavour, are obtained from plants 

 grown on what is known as the cordon system; 

 each little bush is restricted to 

 four branches, and trained to a 

 Y-shaped post and wire trellis, 

 6 feet high, running north and 

 south for preference. These trel- 

 lises form an excellent screen or 

 dividing-fence. Their erection is 

 very simple, and may be done by 

 any handy labourer. Oak posts, 

 6 inches thick and 6 feet out of 

 ground, should be used for the 

 two ends. Across the top of each 

 post a piece, 2 feet long and 3 

 inches square, should be fixed, 

 the ends projecting equally side- 

 ways ; stretch tightly a stout wire 

 from end to end of row, and fix 

 with staples to the outsides of the 

 cross-pieces. Then run a single 

 bottom wire through holes in the 

 posts, and quite close to the 

 ground. If the row is long, 

 intermediate posts will be re- 

 quired. 



Bamboo canes or sticks 6 feet long should 

 now be tied, 6 or more inches apart, to both 

 bottom and top wires, thus forming the V-shaped 

 trellis. One- or two-year-old plants, each with 

 four shoots, should now be planted 18 inches 

 apart, two shoots to be tied to the outside of 

 the stakes on either side of the trellis. This 

 cordon system of training admits the maximum 

 amount of sun, air, and light to the shoots and 

 fruit, and results in the certain production of 

 good crops of first-quality berries. Other ad- 

 vantages in favour of cordons are, that the 

 depredations of bud-destroying birds are less 

 persistent, probably because the branches are 

 less convenient perches for them. Furthermore 

 the cordons can be so easily netted when the 

 fruit is ripe. We have also found that fruit 

 grown on cordon fences will keep better and 

 is less susceptible to mildew. Any waste fence, 

 not open to stock, or where a lining-screen is 

 required, may be utilized for Gooseberries 

 grown on any of the cordon forms, and more 

 Vol. II. 



fruit can be had from a given extent of land 

 by this method of training and good cultivation 

 than by any other means. All the varieties do 

 well as cordons. 



Summer pinching of the laterals of these 

 trained cordons to four leaves is essential, and 

 the laterals should be further cut back to an 

 inch in length in the following winter; the 

 leaders, however, must not be stopped, only 

 shortening their unripe tips in winter. 



^iiuyjiir 



Fig. 1022.— Cordon Gooseberries. 



Propagation. — The Gooseberry is propagated 

 by seeds, cuttings, layers, and suckers. New 

 varieties can, of course, only be obtained from 

 seed. The seeds ought to be washed, and dried 

 on sheets of brown paper, but not hardened 

 by exposure to the sun. They should then 

 be sown in sandy loam in the open ground. 

 or in pots filled with loam, sand, and leaf- 

 mould, covering with about an inch of soil. 

 Those sown in beds will be fit for transplanting 

 into nursery rows in the following autumn. 

 Those sown in pots may be forwarded by 

 potting them singly, as soon as fit, into small 

 pots, and taking care to shift again, or trans- 

 plant, before the roots get in the least matted. 

 The seedlings generally come into bearing in 

 the third or fourth year. 



Propagation by cuttings is the usual mode, 

 and is performed in autumn, winter, or spring, 

 early in autumn being the best time. Cuttings 

 of almost any length will strike, but vigorous 

 firm-wooded shoots, 12 to 15 inches in length, 



56 



