1908. 
GOOSEBERRY CULTURE IN NEW JERSEY. 
Will you or some of your readers give me full informa¬ 
tion in regard to gooseberry culture in New Jersey? In 
western Michigan this is one of the most valuable crops 
that can be grown, at 75 cents per bushel. When would 
be the best time to set the bushes, and how are they 
propagated? G . H> s 
I here are but few large growers of this fruit in the 
State, and of course there is the usual difference 
among growers of this fruit, as there is among plant¬ 
ers of any other small or orchard fruits. As to dis¬ 
tance of planting, and method of culture, the largest 
plantations arc in the southern part of the State, and 
PARTS OF TIIE CARCASS TRIMMED, Fig. 433. 
the chief market for the fruit has been among the 
Baltimore canners. One grower tells me that the busi¬ 
ness has been largely overdone and that the demand 
is limited; that lie would not plant any more. On the 
other side, one of the largest land owners, fruit and 
truck growers in Burlington County tells me that the 
demand is heavy and the profits almost fabulous, and 
claims they are a paying crop at $1 per bushel. 
The gooseberry requires a deep rich soil; whether 
it is sandy, loam or clay it must be deep; if moist and 
well drained all the better. The land should be heav¬ 
ily manured with good stable manure before plant¬ 
ing. Furrows are made by running a two-horse plow 
both ways through it, putting the plants down fully 
as deep as they were when standing in the nursery 
row. After the roots are covered with the top soil, 
fill the furrow up with fine well-rotted manure; then 
cover the manure with an inch or so of soil. Firm 
the soil and manure around the plant by treading it 
down with the feet, the harder the treading the better. 
Many growers depend upon heavy applications- of 
bone arid kainit, or bone and muriate of potash broad¬ 
cast for the- plants after they commence fruiting. White 
it is necessary to furnish the fruiting plants with pot¬ 
ash and phosphoric acid, it is best to add plenty Of 
stable manure broadcast and plowed under, as this 
will help hold the moisture, supplemented with con¬ 
stant cultivation during the Summer season. 
Most growers plant five feet apart in the row, with 
rows six feet apart. The Downing needs the above 
distance, as it is a stronger grower than Houghton, 
while the Houghton might be planted four feet in 
rows, but the rows should be six feet apart. The can¬ 
ners prefer the Houghton as it contains more acid than 
the Downing. The Houghton is red when fully ripe, 
but must be picked while it is green and before it 
shows the faintest tinge of pink. The Downing is a 
much larger berry than the Houghton, and when ripe 
WHAT BECOMES OF TIIE SIDE. Fig. 434. 
is a greenish white with the rib veins showing quite 
distinct; it is inclined to let loose or drop from bush, 
especially in hot dry weather; but its s*ize makes it a 
desirable variety iVi the general market, and aside 
from the canners it is a more profitable berry than the 
Houghton. I name these two varieties because they 
are about the only varieties that are planted as market 
berries. The best time to plant is in the Fall—aViy 
time from middle of October until danger of ground 
freezing. From fir£t to middle of November would 
be the best time for planting in New Jersey. The 
gooseberry and currant are among the first bush fruits 
THIS RURAL NEW-YORKER 
to start leaf growth in the Spring, and unless the 
planter is a man who never gets behind, he would 
better not trust to Spring planting. Fall planting is 
always safest and best for gooseberries and currants. 
If heavily mulched with manure there will be no 
danger of heaving from frost. However, it is always 
best to look over the plants in Spring and firm them 
down again with the feet; they arc then ready to start 
their growth early in the Spring; as they arc among 
the first to start growth, so they are among the first 
to rest and throw off their leaves in the Fall. 
Houghton can be so easily grown from cuttings that 
every planter who has or can get the cuttings should 
be able to raise them very cheap for himself. Take 
the present year’s growth of wood—the size of a 
small lead pencil and make a cutting about eight inches 
long—making the cut clean without breaking or mang¬ 
ling the wood or bark with a keen sharp knife. The 
cuttings can be made and planted as a rule about the 
middle of October. The cuttings should be planted 
in a well-manured as well as a naturally deep, rich 
soil. After the ground has been put in good shape 
by deep plowing and pulverized with harrow, then 
rolled or scraped to give an even surface, a line can 
be put down, and by pressing a spade straight down 
along the line, to a depth equal to the length of the 
cutting, the cutting can easily be pushed down in the 
soil so that only one bud is above ground. Press the 
earth solid back to the cuttings, so they will hold 
firm in the soil. Place the cuttings four inches apart 
in the row, and the rows three feet apart. Before 
ground freezes cover with coarse manure or straw; 
any material will do, so that the ground will not 
freeze and thaw, and cause the cuttings to heave out 
BEDDING TIIE PECAN, Fig. 435. 
during the Winter, which they will do to some extent 
even with the mulch. Early in the Spring all cuttings 
that have been lifted by frost must be pushed down 
even with surface of the ground again. The cuttings 
can be made in the Fall, before hard freezing hurts 
the wood, packed in moist (not wet) sand, moss, or 
sawdust and kept in a codl place, where the tempera¬ 
ture should not go above the freezing point. Then 
they can be planted very early in the Spring and thus 
avoid the trouble and expense of mulching and the risk 
of their being raised out of the ground by frost. The 
Smith's Improved can also be grown from cuttings 
The above instructions apply to all of the varieties 
of currants as well as the Houghton gooseberry. 
he Downing cannot be grown like the Houghton 
from cuttings taken from the plant, but must be pro¬ 
pagated by layers. Plant in the Fall good strong 
two-year-old plants, six feet apart in the rows, the 
rows eight feet apart, planting plants deep enough in 
the ground so the branches will be even with the sur¬ 
face of the ground. Early in the Spring cut back all 
branches within three inches of ground level; this will 
cause the plants to send up many young shoots which 
ought to make a strong branch by the first to the 
middle of the following July. From first to tenth of 
July the layering should be done; this is a very simple 
and easy thing to do. With gloved hands one or two 
men can gently press the shoots or branches of the 
plant down to the ground, evenly around so they will 
not lie one on top of the other, and at the same 
time the center of the plant will be opened to allow 
earth to be filled in. The filling in must be done by 
another man with a spade while the branches are being 
held down in place by the others. The earth should 
be taken from middle of the rows and not from near 
the plant. Pulverize it and work it in through the 
branches, keeping it well firmed with the feet or spade, 
and higher in the center. When the hilling is done 
the top of each shoot should be clear of soil from six 
to eight inches, according to their size when layered. 
©31 
It is important that the earth should be made very 
firm, either with spade or feet while it is being put 
on the layers. It will be best for the beginner to 
leave these layers undisturbed until the Fall following 
that which he did the layering, as it is seldom that 
roots are formed the same Summer that the layering 
is done. 
The ground must be kept cultivated between the 
plants, being careful not to disturb the mounds or 
hills where plants are layered. When ready to remove 
layers, remove the earth from center of mound and 
THE HOG AND- TIIE TOOLS, Fig. 430. 
raise the layers from below with a spade. Cut them 
off, leaving again about three inches to start growth for 
more layers another year. If some of the layers have 
failed to make roots, or not enough to satisfy the 
planter, plant them in rows, where they will make 
good plants in another year. While this may seem a 
troublesome and tedious process it is not so expen¬ 
sive as buying the plants. When once understood it 
will be a pleasure to grow one’s own plants, and to 
have them when one wants them, without the risk of 
delays and losses from distant shipments. 
Monmouth Co.,. N. J. e. s. black. 
PROGRESS IN GOAT BREEDING. 
A Milch Goat Breeders’ Association has been 
formed in this country. As one result of this stories 
about the great profit in selling goat’s milk begin to 
appear. We have no doubt people will accept these 
statements and expect to make fortunes at breeding 
goats. The situation might give some unscrupulous 
man a chance to sell inferior goats at high prices. We 
will warn our readers in time. Near consumptive 
hospitals goat’s milk will usually be in demand. It 
might pay in such a location to keep a herd of goats 
for milk. There is also a fair demand for milch goats 
for use in backyard farming in certain cities where 
foreigners live. The Italians also provide a market 
for kids. These are only possibilities, and goat raising 
is in its infancy here. “Go slow” with goats—no 
faster than you would with ginseng, mushrooms or 
orris root! An excellent bulletin on milch goats has 
been issued by the Department of Agriculture at 
READY FOR CUTTING, Fig. 437. 
Washington, which discusses the standard foreign 
breeds, and tells of their capabilities. 
What lias become of the advocates of -the muslin sys¬ 
tem of ventilation? Tills simple plan of putting muslin 
in place of part of the glass in a window has much 
to commend it. We have been living beside such a screen 
for over a year. What are the objections to it? 
A READER in Australia sends us a package of seeds of a 
new grass, Phalarls commutata. The seeds are started 
and the little seedlings transplanted two feet apart each 
way. This grass is considered a wonder in Australia. 
We can only imagine what some of our American seeds¬ 
men would do in the way of stories about this grass! 
