CULTURE OF THE STRAWBERRY, ETC. 
253 
twelve years, the old stools will be exhausted, and consequently they 
ought to be extirpated and young ones substituted. 
Raspberry and Strawberry plants, and Gooseberry and Currant 
bushes, should have solid manure applied to their roots once a year, 
and liquid manure occasionally from March to the end of fruiting 
time ; meanwhile the earth around them ought to he digged to admit 
air and rain to the roots. The large red, and yellow antwerp, are 
the best raspberries. 
Gooseberry .—A gooseberry bush shall have a stem a foot and a 
half high and many branches; the branches ought never to he top¬ 
ped, as shortening causes them to throw out too much wood, hut 
useless branches may be wholly cut out in winter, close to the parts 
whence they grew, and young ones encouraged to supply their pla¬ 
ces ; at the same time, all side-shoots should be removed close, as 
there must not be any spurs. Insects may be partially, if not en¬ 
tirely, removed from shrubs by shaking the hushes well; and the 
smoke from burnt tobacco leaves, or powered sulphur scattered over 
the bushes from a dredger, will effectually destroy the remainder. 
Currant .—A currant bush ought to have a stem a foot and a half 
high; at the winter pruning, each of the main branches and side- 
shoots must be shortened down to one eye of the new wood ; around 
which spurs and e , es, there will be many bunches of currants of ama¬ 
zing length, and the berries will be very large and sweet-flavoured. 
When cuttings of currant and gooseberry bushes are about to be 
planted to form new trees, the buds must be removed from those 
parts which are to be under ground, otherwise suckers will arise. 
The large red and the white Dutch currants are the best. 
Vine .—The fruit is always produced like the raspberry from the 
shoots of the same year, which are thrown out of the buds of the last 
year’s shoots. It is best to prune vines as soon as the fruit is ga¬ 
thered, because the bearing shoots cannot be mistaken; and it is re¬ 
commended to shorten them so as to leave but four eyes, as by leaving 
too many the vine is exhausted, and yields but poor small fruit. 
The cutting is to he sloped in such a manner, that the water dis¬ 
charged from the shoot, may not run on the bud to injure it. The 
leaves just above, and on each side of the bunches of grapes, should 
never be taken off, as they raise the sap for their mutual benefit; hut 
all others must be removed, as they deprive the fruit of their nutri¬ 
ment, as well as sun and air; the shoot must be pinched off at a 
joint or two above the fruit to stop the sap, as is done with the cu¬ 
cumber and currant. When the berries are as large as small peas, 
they ought to be thinned out with scissors, taking care to cut out the 
