I^vartiral  Hints  on  Fruit  Fannin;/. 
4(1 
about  12  in.  in  length,  the  biuls  of  the  cntting  l)eing  left  on 
the  shoot,  as  this  type  of  bush  is  j)refenible  for  fruit  farms.  The 
bush  is  not  spurred  but  allowed  to  throw  up  young  growths. 
The  pruning  consists  in  encouraging  these  and  cutting  out  old 
wood.  The  great(‘st  care  must  be  taken  to  select  young  plants 
free  from  the  Black-fhirrant  Gall  Mite — “ Big-Bud  ” as  it  is 
commonly  called.  Every  season  this  mite  seems  to  increase  and 
multiply,  therefore  the  fruit  realises  higher  ]>rices  each  year. 
A new  variety,  Boskoop  Giant,  is  said  to  be  free  so  far  from 
this  infestation,  owing  it  is  thought  to  the  bud  being  close  and 
hard,  and  if  this  ]>roves  to  be  the  case  it  will  without  doubt 
be  largely  planted.*  Of  the  other  kinds  Baldwin’s  is  grown  in 
the  south  of  England.  Carter’s  Champion  is  a good  variety  and 
is  hardly  recognisable  from  the  former.  Lee’s  Prolific  is  a 
vigorous  sort,  and  the  fruit  is  large  and  fit  for  table  use. 
Red  and  White  Currants. — The  red  and  white  varieties  of 
currants,  the  latter  of  which  are  seldom  cultivated  on  fruit 
farms,  are  the  least  particular  of  all  fruits  with  regard  to  their 
environs.  Any  moderately  good  land  is  suitabh*  for  this  fruit, 
and  because  it  is  so  easily  grown  its  price  in  late  years  has 
been  much  depreciated.  Bed  currants  are  mainly  used  for 
preserving,  raspberries  being  usually  mixed  with  them  in  jam- 
making. The  bush  is  raised  from  cuttings,  as  in  the  case  of 
black  currants,  but  the  lower  buds  are  rubbed  out  in  order  to 
form  a stem.  The  red  currant  bush  is  spurred  in  pruning  and 
the  cutting  is  j)erformed  so  as  to  form  a basin-like  bush. 
The  sorts  that  are  mostly  grown  are  Baby  (*astle,  especially 
on  poor  soils.  Bed  Dutch  and  Scotch,  together  with  the  AVest 
('ountry  Currant,  known  also  as  American  AVonder,  which  has 
recently  been  introduced.  Versailles  and  AVhite  Dutch  are 
while  kinds,  but  the  culture  of  white  currants  is  generally  con- 
fined to  gardens.  The  red  currant  pays  for  j)inching  in  the  summer 
as  the  fruit  ripens  earlier  when  this  operation  is  performed. 
Gooseberries. — There  are  numerous  varieties  of  gooseberries 
but  only  a few  enter  into  fruit  farming,  and  are  not  grown 
for  their  size,  as  is  the  case  in  the  Lancashire  Prize  and  other 
garden  sorts,  but  for  their  cropping  powers.  These  are 
enormous  in  some  varieties  grown  in  suitable  positions  and  in 
favourable  seasons.** 
* See  also  tlie  remarks  under  “ Insects  Injurious  to  Fruit  Trees”  on  pp.  6.5,  6(>. 
^ As  sparrows  and  other  binls  pick  out  the  buds  of  goo.scberry  bushes  it  is 
desirable  to  put  red  oi'  black  thread  or  worsted  on  the  bushes  in  the  autumn 
to  scare  the  birds. 
