370 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 13, 1892. 
HOME-GROWN FRUIT. 
Notwithstanding our heavy crop of fruit last year 
we fail to see any of it in the market now. Every 
one asks what has become of it, making at the same 
time suggestions that it must be stored up some¬ 
where in large quantities. Some are of the belief 
that this is unfortunately the case. Considering that 
home-grown fruit is admitted on all hands to be of 
better quality than that obtained from Canada or 
other parts of America, there must be something 
altogether anomalous in our methods of placing it 
upon the market if it cannot be disposed of to ad¬ 
vantage even in the face of great competition from 
an inferior article. Your correspondent “ A. D.,’’ p. 
278, said that both our dessert and culinary Apples 
are better than any that America can put in the field. 
Elsewhere a writer has stated that British Apples 
contain about three times as much sugar and malic 
acid as those showy but spongy Apples which come 
from America. Sir James Whitehead, quoting from 
the Fruit Farm Review, has said that the slower 
growth of fruit in this country is productive of the 
rich juices and flavour for which our fruit is justly 
famed, and that English grown fruit will realise from 
ten to fifteen per cent, more than foreign fruit, even 
when the two are placed side by side. 
It may well be asked when and for how long a time 
the two compete with one another side by side. The 
bulk of the fruit of English production comes into 
the London markets during August, September, and 
October ; after that its appearance on the shelves of 
the greengrocer is like the thin red streak at Bala¬ 
clava, that is, few and far between. Taking Irish 
Peach and Devonshire Quarrenden as a sample, we 
see that they readily sell at from qd. to 6d. a pound. 
The last-named seems the most popular; for a few days 
while plentiful it sells at 4d. a pound for fairly good 
samples. As the supply is getting exhausted the 
price runs up to 6d. for samples that are small, im¬ 
properly ripened, and, in fact, perfect rubbish com¬ 
pared with Cox’s Orange, Blenheim Pippin, Duchess 
Favourite, Ribston Pippin, and many others. The 
bulk of home-grown fruit, as far as the early kinds 
are concerned, are consumed in the half ripe state. 
No doubt the high colour of Devonshire Quarrenden 
and the fact that the dealers label it English grown, 
English Quarantine, or something to that effect, 
have something to do with the ready sale which it 
obtains. 
There is great reason to suppose that the bulk of 
British fruit which finds its way into the London 
markets consist of early varieties which can last in 
season for a short time only even in the absence of 
competition. The obvious reasons for cultivating 
them being that the fruit can be gathered from the 
tree and sent to market without having to undertake 
the trouble of storing it ; also that the grower then 
gets an immediate return of his money for it, and 
that there is little or no competition from American 
kinds at that time. There is, however, in some cases 
an attempt at storage, for a number of British varie¬ 
ties of Apple, such as Blenheim Orange, King of 
Pippins, Ribston and Dumelow’s Seedling (Welling¬ 
ton), might be seen in the market at Christmas 
selling at 3d. and 4d. a pound for specimens of 
moderate size. 
On the other hand, it is more than probable that 
the bulk of growers for market make no attempt at 
storage, or, if they do, that they fail for want of 
properly-constructed fruit or store rooms, and a 
knowledge of the best means to adopt in the storage 
of late keeping kinds. Last winter, for instance, was 
a very severe one, and many of the Apples in store 
rooms got frozen and rendered worthless by their 
rotting soon afterwards. In some cases precautions 
were taken to guard against frost by covering them 
up during the latter part of last year and the begin¬ 
ning of this, and the result was that the fruits rotted, 
no doubt by sweating and too much moisture that 
could not escape. Instructions as to methods of 
storage would be of great advantage to the British 
fruit grower, and such should be widely disseminated 
by instructors.— Taxus. 
, •» , 
SMALL FRUITS. 
(Continued from page 354 .) 
Gooseberries. 
The Gooseberry, botanically known as Ribes Gros- 
sularia, is one of our most useful hardy fruits. It is 
said to be indigenous to Britain, but a great deal of 
uncertainty seems to exist as to whether it was not 
imported. Gooseberry culture is carried to greater 
perfection in the nortk of England and in Scotland 
than it is in the south, the cooler climate being more 
favourable to their growth. The fruit is invaluable 
both when green and in a ripe state. 
Propagation. 
This is very easily effected from cuttings; with 
ordinary treatment fully ninety per cent, may be de¬ 
pended upon. Seed is only sown with a view to 
raising new varieties, and is largely practised about 
Lancashire. The cuttings should be made of firm, 
short-jointed, one year old wood. The strongest 
growths are not the best, and those of a medium size 
only should be selected. They should be from 1 ft. 
to 18 in. in length, and all the buds must be removed 
except four or five at the top ; the point of the cutting 
should always be removed, and the end which is in¬ 
serted in the soil cut clean across just below an eye. 
The spines should not be removed, as they will help 
to hold the cuttings in the soil during frosty weather. 
Great care should be taken to remove all the lower 
buds as it will save trouble afterwards. Early autumn 
is the best time to put in the cuttings, which should 
be in straight rows 1 ft. apart and about 3in. between 
the cuttings. They should be put in as the ground 
is being dug. When you have sufficient space for a 
row, stretch the line across and cut down a shallow 
trench, standing the cuttings in their position. They 
should be made firm with the foot, and the same 
process repeated until all the cuttings are planted. 
The young plants should be kept in nursery rows for 
two or three years, being moved every autumn and 
replanted at a wider distance. 
Planting. 
Planting can be done any time from October to the 
end of February, but the sooner it is done after the 
leaves are oft the better, as then the bushes get a 
chance to make a few roots before winter. Just as 
much attention should be paid to planting a Goose¬ 
berry bush as any other fruit, but there is a prevail¬ 
ing idea that a Gooseberry bush will grow no matter 
how it is put in. The roots should be carefully 
spread out, and fine soil worked in between them, 
making it moderately firm. If a piece of ground can 
be entirely devoted to them they should be planted 
about 6 ft. between the rows, and 5 ft. between the 
plants, allowance being made either way for strong 
or weak growers, A good plan is to fill the inter¬ 
vening spaces between standard Apples with bushes. 
Pruning and Training. 
In pruning a young Gooseberry intended for a bush, 
three shoots should be selected at about equal dis¬ 
tances apart, bearing in mind alw-ays to have a clean 
stem of from 6 in. to gin., to admit of the ground 
being stirred and kept clean. Three branches are 
best with which to lay the foundation of a useful 
bush ; they should be shortened to four or five eyes, 
cutting to a bud which points up and outwards. In 
the following season two or three shoots will come 
from those cut back : two will be sufficient to retain 
on each, the others should be cut out. The shorten¬ 
ing should not be so severe this time as the bush has 
to be formed, therefore from 6 in. to gin. will be 
found suitable. The same process will have to be 
repeated until the required size is atained. 
In Scotland the prevailing system is to spur all the 
young wood, treating each branch as a separate cor¬ 
don. This system answers admirably for growing 
large sized or show berries ; but for a profitable 
crop I would recommend the free or extension sys¬ 
tem, thinning out the young wood, and replacing the 
old by young vigorous shoots. The annual pruning 
of established bushes consists of keeping the bushes 
off the ground, thinning the branches out to admit 
air and light and gathering the fruit. By allowing 
the bushes to form a thicket in the centre they soon 
become barren, as without air and light no fruit can 
grow. Gooseberries can be very well grown on walls 
or fastened to horizontal wires; in this manner a 
great quantity of fruit can be obtained. The cordon 
system is the quickest to cover the space, but double 
cordons suit very well, The side branches should be 
pinched in summer to four or five eyes, allowing the 
leader to extend. At the winter pruning those 
pinched in summer must be shortened to two eyes to 
form spurs ; the point should always be taken out of 
the leader if it has exceeded one foot in length. 
Varieties of Gooseberries, 
Like all other fruits there is a great variety to be had 
in Gooseberries, no less than 240 sorts being des- 
''fijged distinct fiy Dr, Hogg in his Fruit Manual, 
The following is my selection of twenty-five varieties, 
which will be found sufficient to meet the demands 
of a large establishment:—Antagonist, Bright Venus, 
Broom Girl, Careless, Conquering Hero, Crown Bob, 
Drill, Early Sulphur, Glenton Green, Glory of Rat- 
cliffe, Heart of Oak, Hedgehog, Keen’s Seedling, 
Lancashire Lad, Leader, Mount Pleasant, Pilot, Red 
Champagne, Red Warrington, Shiner, Snowdrop, 
Thumper, Whitesmith, Whinham’s Industry, and 
Yellow Ball. Six varieties most useful for small 
gardens are—Early Sulphur, Red Champagne, Glen¬ 
ton Green, Red Warrington, Crown Bob, and Keen’s 
Seedling. 
Enemies of the Gooseberry. 
These are chiefly birds and caterpillars, the former 
destroying the buds and the latter the leaves. A 
good plan to prevent both is to dust the bushes with 
slaked lime and soot in damp weather. Birds are 
also troublesome when the fruit is ripening, and if it 
is possible the bushes should be netted. A plan 
which the writer has seen adopted with marked 
success, where a piece of ground was entirely 
devoted to bushes, is to have a strong wire stretched 
on the top of uprights, placed at 12 ft. apart and 6 ft. 
high. Several nets are joined together, drawn over 
the wires and pegged to the ground at the sides,— T. IF. 
(To be continued.) 
♦ 
CHRYSANTHEMUM CUL¬ 
TURE UNDER DIFFICULTIES.* 
By Mr. Norman Davis. 
All horticulturalists residing in large towns, espe¬ 
cially in such a smoky and foggy place as London, 
labour more or less under great disadvantages as 
compared with those in more favoured localities. 
Again there can be no comparison in the advantages 
the professional gardener has, whether he be a 
nurseryman or a gardener in a private capacity, to 
the small and often much confined garden of the 
general town amateur. There is very little honour 
when the professional gardener competes with the 
small amateur and takes the prizes from him. But 
on the other hand, when, as sometimes happens, the 
small, handicapped grower successfully competes 
against those who grow their plants- under more 
favourable circumstances, especially when the town 
grower has to meet those from the pure country air, 
then there is very great honour. 
Again, I never think much of those men who, 
having every convenience and appliances at their 
fingers' end, look down with a sort of supreme con- 
tempt at the productions of their less favoured 
fellows. Very often if we could change the circum¬ 
stances we should perhaps change the results. 
Now I make these opening remarks in the hope of 
giving encouragement to my amateur friends with 
limited resources, and not let them think after visit¬ 
ing some large show, like the National Chrysanthe¬ 
mum Society’s for instance, that because they cannot 
produce such fine flowers as they see there, that 
their endeavours are any the less honourable to 
them. I would advise you not to take the quality of 
those flowers as the standard to reach, but rather 
endeavour to beat those among yourselves who have 
hitherto stood out as your champion growers. Never 
be satisfied while a man (or woman, as far as that 
goes) who, being placed under similar conditions as 
yourselves, grows better flowers than you do, but 
try all you can to honourably replace him. This is 
the only spirit that in a small society it is advisable 
to encourage, otherwise disappointment is sure to 
ensue. 
Before passing on to other remarks in connection 
with my subject, let me say, that you will always 
find in the Chrysanthemum a great friend. If you 
treat it well, no flower so well repays us for the 
trouble bestowed upon it. We have sufficient proof 
of this in the great interest taken in the flower by 
the opening up of Chrysanthemum Societies in all 
parts of the country. But the Chrysanthemum, like 
all other friends, needs to be treated kindly—it will 
not stand neglect. Whatever we take up for a hobby, 
we should do it thoroughly, whether it is plant 
growing or anything else. It not only then becomes 
our companion, but leads us into the society of 
kindred sympathies, as in the case of this gathering 
to-night; and you will find as you go on that the 
very difficulties which you have to contend with in a 
neighbourhood like this, will tend to give you greater 
* A paper read at the meeting of the Battersea Amateur 
Chrysanthemum Society, held on Feb. 3rd- 
