SHALL AND BUSH FRUITS. 



17 



Propagation. — There are four easy methods of 

 propagation — by seeds, cuttings, layers, and suckers. 

 The first is used for new varieties, the second is 

 the usual mode, the third and fourth are easy and 

 sure methods. Taking the last first, as all Goose- 

 berries are grown on their own roots, of course each 

 root-sucker sent forth is already a Gooseberry-bush, 

 which only needs detaching to form an independent 

 plant. Suckers, however, are not popular, and are 

 not thought so fruitful as plants raised by other 

 methods. And as it is bad form in culture to allow 

 the development of suckers, this mode of propa- 

 gation may be dismissed. 



No plant roots from layers more readily than the 

 Gooseberry. In most localities each branch that 

 leans on the ground emits roots, and layers itself into 

 an independent plant, and if about midsummer the 

 tips of the shoots are inserted two inches in the soil, 

 each will develop a great tuft of roots before the end 

 of the season. In layers thus formed, of course the 

 current of the sap is reversed ; but this is not found 

 to be of any moment or inconvenience in practice. 

 The branches may also be layered as already pointed 

 out for Roses. 



Unless for new varieties, seeds are not resorted to 

 as a means of propagation. They take about four 

 years to come into bearing. The seeds should be 

 sown in the open so soon as ripe, as they vegetate in 

 less time when not over- dried. The next year they 

 may be lined out into rows a foot apart, and nine 

 inches asunder in the rows, and left in these till they 

 are wanted for final planting. 



But the orthodox mode of propagation is by 

 cuttings, and the best time for inserting them is the 

 latter end of October or beginning of November. 

 Nice pieces of the current year's wood should be 

 chosen, and if heeled off from older wood so much the 

 better for the cutting. Reduce it to a length of 

 from nine inches to a foot. Remove all the buds 

 from the base upwards, leaving two or three on the 

 top of the cutting. Insert with a spade, as described 

 for Rose cuttings (Vol. I., p. 211), and at similar 

 distances, and tramp them firmly in. The cuttings 

 should not be more than from four to six inches 

 deep in the ground. Some recommend longer cut- 

 tings, inserting them at greater depths ; but this is 

 injurious to the future growth of the plant. 



Ninety- five per cent, of Gooseberry cuttings will 

 grow, and they should be lined out to wider distances, 

 two feet by one foot or more apart, the following 

 autumn. 



Planting.— As to soil, the Gooseberry is by no 

 means particular. It mostly does well enough in 

 old kitchen gardens, rich in humus, and full of 

 manure. Its favourite soil, however, is a rich 

 74 



friable loam, deep and moist rather than dry, well 

 enriched with farmyard manure. Anything like 

 stagnant water, however, must be avoided, or the 

 Gooseberries will soon manifest symptoms of jaun- 

 dice — that is, the leaves and even young shoots will 

 become yellow. The site should be cool, and in the 

 south partially shaded. Gooseberries, however, 

 must not be overhung by dense trees either in the 

 south or the north. The farther north, the more 

 open and exposed should the bushes be. The best 

 time to plant is the end of October or beginning of 

 November, for reasons already given under Planting 

 of Apples. As to distance, the old orthodox distance 

 of six feet by four for bushes and pyramids has hardly 

 been bettered. Cordons on walls may be of all the 

 various forms used for Apples and Pears, and may 

 range from seven inches apart for single, to eighteen 

 inches or two feet for double, and yet further dis- 

 tances for multiple, or upright U or other shaped 

 cordons. (For mode of planting, &c, see Apples.) 



In the final planting out of Gooseberries, great care 

 should be taken to remove all buds from the roots or 

 stems, as single-stemmed bushes are not only more 

 fruitful, but far more effective than those with two 

 or many stems. Gooseberries make very effective 

 pyramids, and these on rich soil should not be 

 planted closer than nine or twelve feet apart if they 

 are meant to reach a height of from seven to ten 

 feet. The distance, however, should vary with the 

 quality of the soil ; the richer, as a rule, the further 

 apart ; the poorer, the closer the plants should be 

 placed together. 



After planting, staking, mulching, and watering 

 should the weather prove dry, should be promptly 

 attended to, so as to allow the plants to start into 

 growth at once. The plants should in no case be 

 planted deeper than the earth-line indicating their 

 first depth in the cutting state. 



As the roots of the Gooseberry are numerous, care 

 should be taken in planting not to huddle them 

 together, but to distribute them regularly throughout 

 the soil. The roots are also in an abnormally active 

 state in winter, and should not be exposed to the air 

 one moment longer than is needful. They should 

 also be surfaced over with a frost and drought 

 resisting mulch so soon as planted. 



Pruning. — Volumes might be filled with what 

 has been written on this subject ; and the practice 

 varies still more widely than the theories. One or 

 two general principles may, however, be referred to. 

 The first is, never prune a Gooseberry-bush or tree 

 when it is planted. Let one pruning of all trees — 

 at one time, whether of roots or tops — suffice. And 

 this reminds us that the Gooseberry was systemati- 

 cally root-pruned before fruit-trees in general were 



