850 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



rendered quite useless in England in hot, dry, open quarters, the 

 bushes suffering severely and the fruit parboiled and nauseous. 

 The method frequently carried out by growers for market of 

 planting rows of Gooseberries betweens rows of standard Apple, 

 Pear, and Plum trees is as good a system as can be adopted 

 in such localities as are warm and dry. In private gardens a 

 border behind a north kitchen garden wall is a good situation. 

 In the North, again, I should always prefer an open quarter of 

 good loamy soil. In all cases a rather deep, cool soil is best. 

 And before making a new plantation it should be well manured 

 and trenched, for in after years the manure applied should at 

 most be only forked into or laid on the surface of the ground, 

 as it is injurious to dig or fork deeply amongst the roots of 

 fruit-bearing bushes. 



The fixing of the distances at which bushes should be planted 

 is also a point to be regulated by the locality, soil, and the 

 consequent vigour the plants usually attain. In England I 

 found 5 feet by 5 feet sufficient, while in Scotland, where the 

 bushes grow more robustly, 6 feet by 6 feet is not by any means 

 too much room to give them. In planting the bushes it is very 

 undesirable to plant deeper than they were in the nursery lines. 

 Deep planting is an evil, and has a tendency to produce suckers, 

 always to be avoided. For the formation of symmetrical bushes, 

 if labour can be afforded it is a good plan to fix a hoop to three 

 or four stakes round each bush, about 2 feet from the ground, 

 when they are planted, and to these hoops fix or tie the outer 

 shoots of the plants, so as to get them into equidistant positions. 

 Not more than three leaders should occupy the centre of the 

 bush. 



The pruning of these bushes during the time of their fruit- 

 bearing existence is very simple. Supposing the bush when per- 

 manently planted to consist of twelve to fourteen leading growths 

 or branches shortened back to about 1 foot of the previous year's 

 growth, at next pruning time there are to be dealt with a 

 leading growth and a number of laterals on each limb. The 

 leader should be shortened back a little, according to the vigour 

 of the variety, and the lateral growths spurred or cut back to two 

 or three buds. This process of pruning goes on yearly till the 

 leaders are the desired height— say 4 to 5 feet high— when they 

 also are cut back closely the same as the laterals. In addition to 



