THE COTTAGE GARDENEI1 AND COUNTRY G 
though large, yet upon the whole they will be little 
superior to cuttings struck iu October, and room afforded 
them after March. 
“ Can such cuttings of Calceolarias be struck now ?”— 
Yes. all through the winter, but especially in November. 
In October they want no bottom-heat, merely to be kept 
close and moist. In November they would be none the 
worse for a little bottom-heat, such as would be afforded by 
an old, nearly spent hotbed; but they will do capitally in 
an average temperature of 40°, with a rise in the middle ' 
of the day from sunshine. Provided the soil is moistish, 
not wet., the atmosphere moist and close, and the heat 
not much below 40°, these cuttings will strike faster now 
than iu September. A great number of queries have 
been sent to me, and a great many plans presented 
kindly for my consideration, and all of them answering 
admirably ; and I would only say to each and all, Stick 
to that plan you find best. Never mind if a proverb 
should be circulated about “ gardeners differing,” so that 
we differ and respectively succeed. I mentioned lately 
a simple mode, by which 1 hardly ever lost a cutting— 
“ One friend succeeds best with hand-lights.” A great 
gardener has struck his stock for some years under 
hand-lights in drained, sandy soil, placed under the shade 
of an Apple or a Filbert-tree, and some of my friends 
are so enraptured with the idea, that they next think to 
say that it is the only way to success; and, to oblige 
them, you must cheerfully walk fifty or a hundred yards, 
or ever so much more, from the general propagating- 
place to this favoured tree, to see how nice they look; 
and very nice I have seen them, though they might 
have been quite as nice without a tree, or any other 
striking peculiarity, provided that in autumn propa¬ 
gating—for to that only I refer—the soil was sandy and 
moistish, and the atmosphere cool, close, and moist, and 
the fierce rays of the sun excluded, but light admitted, 
such as can always be secured on the north side of a 
fence. Secure these conditions, with proper cuttings, 
and success is certain, whatever be the peculiar mode 
adopted. R. Fish. 
CULTURE OF THE GOOSEBERRY. 
{Continued from page 58.) 
Summer Management. —This consists in pruning, 
gathering, preserving, and protecting the fruit; also 
destroying insects, and keeping the ground free from 
weeds. 
Pruning. —When the trees are very vigorous they are 
apt to push forth from the centre of the tree a con¬ 
siderable number of strong, watery shoots, which the 
French call gourmands, a word that may be translated into 
gluttons. These not only rob the tree of strength, but, 
if they are allowed to remain, shade the fruit from the 
beneficial influences of air and light. To prevent that 
evil, and to strengthen the fruit-bearing shoots, these 
gluttons should all be removed. The best plan is to 
slip them off close to the stems from whence they 
spring, and that in good time, that is, in the early part 
of June. 
Some kinds of the Gooseberry send forth their shoots 
in a drooping position. Such shoots should be tied to 
short stakes, to keep them up from the ground; they 
will strengthen in that trained position, and keep it the 
second year. Other kinds grow quite upright, clustering 
their old and young shoots in a dense bush. These 
kinds should be spread open nearly horizontally by 
means of hooked sticks or hoops fastened to short stakes, 
and the young shoots brought down and tied to the 
hoops. During summer it will be of advantage, in dry 
weather, to give copious waterings of manure-water, not 
too strong; also, before the fruit ripens, to syringe the 
bushes freely every evening. This syringing greatly 
GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, November II, 1850. 01 
helps to keep down the red spider, as well as feeding the 
tree and keeping the foliage clean and healthy. 
Gathering the Fruit. — Unripe Gooseberries are 
much esteemed for making tarts and creams. Too 
often, however, the first largest fruit is picked for these 
purposes. This is very injudicious; the smaller fruit 
should be taken, and the larger left for ripening. 
Where very large fruit is required the trees should be 
young. Four years old is the best age and size to 
produce fruit such as we see at the Gooseberry Shows 
in Lancashire and elsewhere. Then from six to a 
dozen fruit on one of these young, healthy trees is 
all that should be allowed; the others should all be 
clipped off before they are the size of peas. For 
general crops, moderate thinning, when the fruit is large 
enough for tarts, may be resorted to witli advantage and 
profit. It is the practice of most families to preserve 
Gooseberries green, so as to have them fit for use in 
winter. This is accomplished by putting them in bottles 
with wide mouths. The bottles should be filled with 
moderate-sized fruit, and nearly filled up with cold 
water, corked, and sealed; then place the bottles in a 
large, flat-bottomed, iron pot nearly full of water, set it 
on the fire, and gradually heat the water to nearly the 
boiling point; then take the bottles out, and place them 
in a cool cellar. Some place them in the soil behind a 
north wall, turning the bottles upside down. Another 
way is merely to bottle them without water, cork tight, 
and seal with resin, and place them upside down in a 
cool cellar. 
Ripe fruit is used for the dessert, and is also preserved 
with sugar—a method so well known that I need not 
describe the process. 
The season for the ripe fruit may be considerably 
prolonged by covering the bushes with garden mats; but 
the fruit must be nearly ripe before the covering is 
applied, or it will have a poor flavour. 
Birds and wasps are very fond of this fruit when 
ripe. It may be protected from the former by a covering 
of netting. If the trees grow in a compartment to 
themselves, the whole may be covered with nets, raised 
high enough to allow the gatherer to creep under to 
gather the fruit as it is required. Wasps are more 
difficult to manage; the only way is to destroy their 
nests, and place bottles half-filled with sweet liquor to 
entice them in, where they will soon die. 
Insects. —The caterpillar is the most formidable; for 
if allowed to have its full swing, not a leaf will be left 
on the trees, and the consequence will be, the fruit will 
never ripen, and the wood will be thin and weak, and 
barren the next year. Various are the means that have 
been used for their destruction, but none so effectual as 
hand-picking as soon as they appear. All the nauseous 
mixtures recommended by various authors are, to say 
the least of them, almost as injurious to the health of 
the trees as the caterpillars themselves, besides giving 
the fruit an ill flavour. Forking the earth deeply around 
the trees is, I believe, of advantage, for there the chrysa¬ 
lides of many species are deposited. A good watering of 
strong manure-water over the branches in winter helps 
to destroy any that may be deposited in the crevices of 
the rough bark. 
The red spider , in dry seasons, is almost as injurious 
as the caterpillar. It may be got rid of by syringing 
with soap-water; but then it must be applied early, or 
the fruit will be flavoured with it. I have kept them 
clear for years by merely syringing frequently and 
strongly with clear water, and wetting the under-side of 
the leaves by using a bent syringe. 
Propagation. —The Gooseberry may be increased as 
easily as the common Willow, providing proper care is 
used in making cuttings at the right season, and 
planting them properly. 
The cuttings should be at least a foot long, and of 
