October ?, 1890. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
289 
they will smash when travelling to market. The half sieves when 
full should weigh 24 lbs. nett, and before the fruit is placed in 
should be lined with paper. In the fruit-growing counties what is 
called “ fruit paper ” is used ; if this cannot be had “ cap paper ” 
will do, but is not so cheap. A sheet should also be put over the 
top of the fruit, and the package finished off as recommended for 
Apples. If gathered when thoroughly dry Black Currants will not 
spoil so soon as some other fruits, but all these soft fruits should be 
sold and used as soon as possible after gathering. Those sent to 
Covent Garden are generally sold again within twenty-four hours 
from leaving the plantations. Prices vary from 2s. to 4s. 6d. per 
stone of 14 lbs., according to quality and time. Those sent to 
London markets are sold by the half sieve at about the same rate. 
An acre of trees that are four years old should give about 600 lbs., 
increasing rapidly to 5000 lbs. in an ordinary season, and double 
this quantity when there is a heavy crop, and under the highest 
cultivation without a “ top crop ”—that is, standard Apples, &c., 
above them. 
Varieties. —Lee’s Prolific, Black, Naples,and Carter’s Champion 
are the best; the latter has by far the largest fruit. 
Cultivation. — The plantations where Black Currants are 
grown should be forked over annually after pruning, and all weeds 
should be destroyed during the summer before they get large. A 
'liberal dressing of farmyard manure once in three years will be of 
great benefit in promoting the size of the fruit. 
Enemies. —With the exception of birds this fruit has nothing to 
interfere with its success ; even frost in spring seldom takes any 
■effect on it. 
Gooseberries. 
This is a good fruit to grow for sale, as they can either be 
disposed or green—in which state they often give the best returns — 
or they may, in the case of the red varieties, be left until ripe. In 
Kent, where large quantities are grown, they are generally gathered 
by women and girls, who earn good wages at the rate of 4d. per half 
sieve for green ones, and 2^d. to 3d. for ripe fruit. 
Planting. —The best time for this as for all fruits is when the 
leaves begin to change colour ; but any time between October 
and March will do if there is no severe frost or snow at the time. 
Gooseberries may be raised from cuttings in a similar way to 
Black Currants, except that Gooseberries are best grown with a 
stem, from 6 inches to 1 foot high, to allow of digging, &c., under¬ 
neath, and to keep the fruit from the ground, also to prevent so 
many strong shoots growing in the centre of the tree. The cuttings 
should, therefore, be not less than 9 inches in length, as 3 inches 
should be put into the ground and trodden in firmly. All the buds 
should be cut off Gooseberry cuttings except three or four at the 
top, to prevent suckers springing up from the root. The distances 
for planting should be the same as for Black Currants. The Goose¬ 
berry will thrive in a stony soil better than Currants. The cost of 
planting per acre will be about the same as for Currants. 
Pruning. —For young bushes this consists in selecting six or 
eight main branches springing out evenly not far from the top of 
the stem. Thus, if the cutting throws out three or four shoots the 
first year they may be cut back to within 4 inches at pruning time, 
when each one will throw two or three good shoots the next 
season, and enough may then be selected to form the future tree, 
keeping the centre open and cutting always to buds that point in 
the right direction for the branch to grow. Some varieties, and 
especially Warrington, persist in bending over towards the ground, 
and require pruning back well to get the main branches as upright 
as possible. All strong roots in the centre of the tree should be 
■cut clean out and the small side branches cut off within an inch of 
-their base, leaving one almost full length occasionally in the 
thinnest parts of the tree, and always leaving a good leader at the 
point of the main branches until they get 4 feet in height. Sum¬ 
mer pruning is also of great benefit to the Gooseberry. This con¬ 
sists in cutting out all young shoots in the centre of the tree and 
^elsewhere -which would otherwise be cut out at the winter pruning. 
By cutting them out in summer as soon as the fruit is gathered 
the remaining buds on the main branches get a better chance to 
ripen and store up nourishment for next year’s crop. The work 
is also much better done in mild weather than in the winter. In 
the Kent plantations Gooseberries are pruned by the “ tree 
cutters ” in “ piecework,” during the short days of winter at about 
Is. 6d. per 100 trees, according to size. 
Cultivation and Manuring. — Like all other bush fruits, 
Gooseberries pay well for an application of manure about once in 
two or three years. Night soil is often given to them in Kent, 
and materially assists in bringing very heavy crops of fruit to per¬ 
fection. The soil is removed from under the bushes early in the 
■ spring, forming a basin-shaped cavity into which half a pailful of 
night soil is poured, and next day the earth is put back again which 
had been removed. Large quantities of London manure is also 
brought down the river in barges, and after partial decay is applied 
during the winter months before the plantation is dug over, but 
there is no manure so good as that from a cowyard when it can 
be got. The plantations should be kept perfectly clean by hoeing 
and hand-weeding if required, and the ground should always be dug 
roughly in the winter after the bushes are pruned. 
Varieties. —Whitesmith for gathering green, Crown Bob either 
green or red, Warrington for late red fruit. A new variety 
called Early Kent has lately been very highly spoken of for its 
earliness, which is a great consideration in Gooseberries for 
market. 
Gathering and Marketing. —Gooseberries, if early , pay 
well for gathering and sending to market green, and for this 
purpose Whitesmith is the best among the older varieties for early 
work. But Early Kent is said to be much earlier. The early sorts 
should be planted in the warmest part of the ground, in order to get 
the full advantage of the early prices, and all of the “ White ” 
Gooseberries should be gathered in a green state for market, as 
they do not sell well when ripe. Some of the Crown Bobs may also 
be gathered green, or all of them if prices are good. Warrington 
generally pays best when ripe. I say ripe, but ripe Gooseberries for 
market must only just be red. If allowed to get quite soft they 
are apt to split in damp or showery weather, and there is thus a 
risk of great loss, which is avoided by gathering earlier. Also they 
will not stand handling at the market if overripe ; neither will 
they travel so well; but if required for sale near home, the wishes 
of the buyers must be considered. Green Gooseberries should 
realise from 2s. to 3s. per stone at the market, ripe fruit Is. 6d. to 
2s. 6d. An acre planted 5 feet apart each way should yield the 
first year about 40 stones of green fruit, or 60 stones when ripe, 
worth £4 to £5 clear of expenses, and this will increase yearly 
as the trees grow (if the crop is not spoiled by frost), until at 
six or seven years after planting they should have reached a full 
size, and give a crop of 5 tons per acre, worth £50 at a low estimate 
clear of expenses. It is possible to have double this amount 
occasionally by high cultivation and getting the best prices in the 
market. As Gooseberries may be grown among standard Apples and 
other fruits, they will add considerably to the returns, although it 
is not possible to grow such large crops of under fruit in mixed 
plantations. They should be packed for market in half sieves 
containing 2 stones, or 28 lbs. nett, and finished off as advised for 
Black Currants. 
Enemies. —Birds are very troublesome to the Gooseberry 
grower, both when the fruit gets ripe (at which time they must 
be scared off by shooting), and also by eating the buds off when 
the trees are in a dormant state. It is at this stage when most 
mischief is done, as every bud eaten then means the loss of two or 
three Gooseberries. Strings of white cotton crossed in various ways 
over the trees by twisting them round four of the most prominent 
branches is one of the best methods of frightening them away. 
When damage from this cause is expected the trees should be 
pruned, and cotton put on them before January, as pruning is not 
easily done after the cotton is on. Bullfinches and sparrows are 
the most destructive among the buds. All of the former should be 
destroyed, as they do no good to the fruit grower to counterbalance 
the mischief. Sparrows do some amount of good in summer by 
devouring caterpillars, and must not all be destroyed, or the 
remedy may be worse than the disease. The Gooseberry cater¬ 
pillar often does a vast amount of damage if not destroyed as soon 
as it appears. Handpicking is the best and safest remedy for 
these. Dusting the bushes with white hellebore powder is often 
recommended, and is very effectual, but it is a dangerous poison, 
which should only be used with the greatest care. All traces of it 
should be washed away with clean water a few days after.— 
W. H. Divers. 
(To be continued.) 
HOLLYHOCKS. 
One of your correspondents, Mr. George Steel, Cornhill-on- 
Tweed, is devoting considerable attention to Hollyhocks, and has 
one of the best collections in the kingdom, and I hope that shortly 
we shall, through the Journal, hear from him the result of his 
experience in culture and the disease to which the Hollyhock is 
unfortunately liable. I have not the pleasure of his personal 
acquaintance, but he is a frequent correspondent on matters relative 
to the Hollyhock, Pansies, and Violas, and a few days ago he sent 
me a smallbox of Hollyhock blooms by post, which were a glad¬ 
some sight, for in size and quality they vividly recalled the good 
old Hollyhock days of close upon forty years ago, when those 
glorious old flowers, Lizzie, Beauty of Cheshunt, Glory of 
Cheshunt, Model of Perfection, White Globe, Pourpre de Tyre, 
I Safranot, and many others were so popular and so fine. 
