September  12,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
247 
45°,  or  even  30°,  later  on,  to  give  them  a  greater  length  before  reaching 
the  top  of  their  support.  They  can  be  tied  up  in  various  ways — by 
a  stake  to  each  or  by  stout  supports  at  each  end  of  a  row,  and  one  or 
two  in  the  middle  as  well,  if  necessary,  with  two  or  three  wires 
stretched  across  ;  or,  least  trouble  of  all,  against  a  wall.  If  they  are 
planted  against  a  south  wall,  both  leaves  and  fruit  sometimes  get 
scorched  in  a  very  hot,  dry  summer,  such  as  the  last,  besides  which, 
such  a  valuable  wall  can  seldom  be  spared  for  them.  East  and  west 
walls  are  the  best  for  them,  especially  the  latter,  as  with  that  aspect 
the  sun  does  not  shine  upon  them  when  the  frost  is  on  the  bloom  in 
the  spring,  and  very  early  fruit,  both  for  picking  green  and  ripe,  can 
be  obtained,  especially  if  the  wall  is  a  little  inclined  to  the  south-west. 
With  Gooseberries  in  this  position  there  is  never  any  difficulty  about 
spur  an  inch  long  one  may  get  four  fruit  buds  instead  of  three ;  while 
of  the  animal  manure  the  potash  gives  depth  of  colour  and  richness 
of  flavour  to  the  fruit,  and  nitrogeD  vigour  of  growth  to  the  tree,  and 
size  to  the  fruit.  The  basic  slag  thus  makes  good  the  deficiency  of 
phosphates  in  farmyard  manure. 
Pruning  is  a  simple  matter,  and  consists  in  cutting  back  all  the 
young  lateral  shoots  to  three  or  four  eyes,  the  two  lowest  being,  as  a 
rule,  close  to  the  base,  while  the  terminal  shoot  should  be  cut  back 
to  about  one-third  of  its  length,  if  there  is  room  for  it  to  extend  so 
much.  If  it  is  left  longer  there  will  not  be  enough  lateral  shoots 
next  year  to  furnish  the  new  part  of  the  cordon  with  spurs.  This 
pruning,  with  the  exception  of  that  of  Jthe  terminal  shoot,  which 
should  be  left  till  the  latter  part  of  the  summer,  should  be  done 
VIEW  IN  RAVENSCOURT  PARK 
getting  green  Gooseberries  at  Whitsuntide,  however  early  it  comes, 
and  however  late  the  season,  as  they  are  generally  big  enough  to 
permit  of  a  preliminary  thinning  by  the  second  we'k  in  May.  The 
Gooseberry,  however,  is  very  accommodating,  and  it  is  especially  so 
as  a  wall  fruit,  because  it  is  the  only  fruit,  except  Morello  Cherries 
and,  perhaps,  Red  Currants,  which  really  does  well  on  a  north  wall. 
They  are  so  fond  of  moisture  that  they  will  put  up  with  shade  for  the 
sake  of  it,  tho  igh  even  a  north  wall  gets  some  sun  in  June  and  July. 
Cordons  may  be  planted  as  close  as  a  foot  apart,  or  even  9  inches. 
The  ground  should  be  previously  well  enriched  with  basic  slag  and 
farmyard  or  stable  manure.  Goosebsrries  resemble  Black  Currants  in 
this  respect,  that  there  is  no  fear  of  their  running  to  wood  at  the 
expense  of  fruit,  for  the  stronger  the  wood  the  batter  the  fruit.  Basic 
slag  his  the  effect  of  inducing  short-jointe  1  growth,  so  that  on  a 
when  the  fruit  is  ready  to  change  colour,  as  the  removal  of  the 
superfluous  growth  sends  an  increased  quantity  of  sap  to  the  fruit, 
which  will  swell  rapidly  in  consequence,  while  it  will  gain  a  better 
flavour  as  the  result  of  the  increase  of  sun  and  air  to  it,  as  well  as 
to  the  maturer  leaves,  from  which  the  fruit  derives  its  flivour. 
There  is  not  much  fear  of  any  of  the  buds  breaking  out  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  the  shortening  so  early,  but  if  any  do,  it  can  easily  be 
remedied  by  cutting  back  the  spurs  affected  to  another  bud.  It  is 
only  in  warm,  wet  weather  that  this  is  likely  to  happen. 
If  exceptionally  fine  fruit  is  wanted,  it  is  advisable  to  carefully 
thin  it  when  green — when  it  is  large  enough  for  culinary  purposes — 
so  as  to  leave  not  more  than  one  fruit  to  a  leaf  or  eye,  and  not  more 
than  two  on  a  spur.  In  this  way,  with  a  little  manure  water  if  the 
weather  is  very  dry,  exhibition  fruit  may  be  obtained  from  non- 
