THE GOOSEBERRY. 



351 



this winter pruning, the bushes should be carefully gone over 

 about the beginning of June, if time can possibly be spared, and 

 the superfluous lateral growths disbudded or removed, so that the 

 bush does not become a thicket of young growths that do not, 

 in consequence of being so crowded, get properly ripened. 

 Strong growths that over-master others should be stopped 

 or removed altogether. As they get aged and the bushes past 

 their best, whole limbs often die back, and young shoots must be 

 encouraged to take their place. But when plantations show 

 unmistakable signs of giving way it is well to be ready with their 

 successors. 



If the ground has been well manured before planting, and is 

 naturally good, little or no manure is needed till the bushes 

 get into heavy bearing, when rich farmyard manure should 

 be laid on as a summer mulching, and be forked in after the 

 bushes are pruned in winter. This is especially applicable to 

 England and warm, dry soils and climates. 



The protection of the fruit from birds in almost all gardens 

 is indispensable, and my method of doing this is to drive stakes 

 into the ground 12 feet apart all over the quarter. The 

 stakes stand 5 feet out of the ground, and light rails 12 feet 

 long are fixed on the tops of these stakes and nets drawn over 

 the whole quarter, and at such a height as completely clears the 

 bushes and admits of the fruit being gathered and the bushes 

 being otherwise cared for without removing the net. The stakes 

 and rails are permanent, and if of larch will last many years. 



In wet localities such as my own (Dumfriesshire) the bushes 

 soon get covered with lichen unless it be kept down, which is 

 effectually and easily done by dusting the bushes with caustic 

 lime after pruning and when they are damp. 



Caterpillars are very troublesome some seasons, and the 

 easiest and most effectual remedy I know of is to dust the bushes 

 when damp with Hellebore powder, and to syringe it off after it 

 has served its purpose. A very good practice is to remove in 

 winter a few inches of the soil for a radius of 2 feet round each 

 bush, and to replace the old with fresh loam. This removes the 

 larvae and nourishes the bushes as well, for they root freely into 

 the fresh soil. 



Nice fresh Gooseberries are always appreciated at dessert, or 

 more especially for breakfast and luncheon, and to prolong the 



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