(rooxfherrief. 
47 
Whinhani’s  Industry,  Howard’s  Lancer,  Crown  Bob, 
Lancashire  Lad,  Rifleman,  and  Whitesmith  answer  well  in  large 
plantations  and  are  usually  met  with  in  the  markets.  The 
gooseberry  does  not  succeed  on  heavy  clays  but  flourishes  on 
fairly  light  land  of  a porous  nature.  It  is  a shallow-rooted 
bush  and  therefore  deep  cultivation  should  be  avoided.  It 
blossoms  early  and  the  blossoms  appear  before  the  leaves. 
Low-lying  and  exposed  positions  are  therefore  unfavourable  to 
its  culture,  as  it  suffers  from  frosts  in  tlie  early  spring.  Owing 
to  its  great  j)roductiveness  it  is  not  so  much  in  favour  as 
formerly,  as  if  ^ is  not  very  remunerative  unless  the  fruit  is 
sold  early  in  the  season.  For  this  reason  large  quantities  are 
marketed  green  ; some  berries  being  left  on  the  trees  to  be 
picked  rij)e,  and  to  finish  off  the  ingathering.  The  gooseberry 
is  cultivated  from  layers  or  from  cuttings.  The  plants  are 
easily  raised  by  taking  straight  ])ieces  of  the  cuttings  about 
1 4 inches  in  length  from  the  bushes,  and  setting  them  in  rows,  in 
a nursery,  in  the  autumn,  having  first  taken  off  the  buds,  except 
those  on  four  or  five  inches  of  the  upper  part.  In  two  vears 
they  will  be  fit  to  plant  out  if  carefully  tended,  and  in  two  years 
more  they  will  produce  fruit  worth  picking.  Good  plants  can 
1)6  l)ought  wholesale  in  fruit  growing  districts  at  from  6s.  to 
lOs.  per  100.  Pruning  is  done  from  October  until  the  end  of 
January.  The  rank-growing  shoots  and  branches  are  cut  awav, 
and  a moderate  supply  of  young  wood  is  left  in  the  bush,  which 
should  be  shaped  like  a cup  (Fig.  4).  The  branches  should 
be  trained  to  droop  somewhat.  In  pruning  the  bush  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  the  branches  should  be  thinned  out, 
and  that  the  fruit  crops  mainly  on  the  new'  growth.  Some 
varieties  however  require  spurring.  Green  gooseberries  in 
some  seasons  when  picked  early  command  a good  figure,  but 
the  price  for  the  main  crop  is  frequently  very  low  on  account 
of  the  large  additions  made  to  the  acreage  in  recent  years. 
