Currants, Gooseberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, etc., are termed
“Small Fruit.” We will give some directions for spring-work which
these require.
RASPBERRIES.—The sorts usually found in our gardens are rejected from
all good collections as worthless. The Antwerp, red and white, have,
until lately, been regarded as the best. Two new kinds are very highly
thought of—the _Franconia_ and the _Fastolf_. This last is an English
variety; was found growing on a gentleman’s ground among some lime and
brick rubbish—evidently a seedling—and removed to his garden. It was a
number of years before it attracted attention; but, lately, it has
been much in demand and bids fair to claim a rank among the first, if
it is not _the_ first.
A deep, rich, loamy soil which is moist, proves best for this fruit.
It prefers a half shady position.
When first planted, put them four feet apart in the row, and the rows
three feet from each other.
In old beds cut out the _last year’s bearing wood_, now worthless, and
also all the new shoots but four or five to a root; grub up all that
have come up between the rows. Cut those which are reserved for
bearing to about five feet in length, and tie them gently to a stake.
Thus treated from year to year, and well manured, raspberries will
return a rich reward.
STRAWBERRIES.—The number of kinds is immense. Knight, late president
of the London Horticultural Society, had _four hundred_ kinds in his
garden, and most of them seedlings of his own raising. The early
_Virginia_ is regarded as the best early kind. Hovey’s, Warren’s and
Keen’s seedlings are admirable sorts. Wiley’s and Motter’s seedlings
originated in Cincinnati and are esteemed. There are many other fine
sorts which an amateur cultivator would wish, not necessary to common
gardens, where two or three choice sorts will suffice.
Almost every cultivator has a way of his own in raising strawberries.
In private gardens, in a soil well enriched and deeply spaded, let
beds be formed about four feet wide; upon these set three rows of
hills and the plants about fifteen inches apart in the row. _Pinch of
all runners through the season_, unless they are wanted for new
plants.
Old beds, grown over and matted, had better be destroyed; but if, for
any reason, it is desirable to save them, mark out lines every
eighteen inches and dig alleys through the bed, by turning the plants
under. In this way the patch will be thrown into beds of eighteen
inches width. Before this is done take an iron-toothed rake and rake
the bed severely. Do not be afraid of tearing the plants; go over the
whole bed thoroughly. It will seem as if scarcely a dozen plants were
left, but in a few weeks your bed will be entirely covered with a
strong growth.
GOOSEBERRIES.—This fruit is very much neglected because its merits are
only little known. There are two sorts found in our gardens, the
common gooseberry and _English_, by which name is meant a large,
coarse, thick-skinned green variety. It is not generally known that
there are any other cultivated sorts; and as these are inferior they
are little cared for. The Lancashire (England) Nurserymen publish 300
varieties! The select list of Mr. Thompson of the London Horticultural
Society’s garden comprises _fifty-six_ varieties; the still more
condensed select list of _Robert Manning_ (Mass.) includes
_twenty-eight_ sorts. Some of these bear fruit as large as a
medium-sized plum. There are four colors, red, yellow, green and
white; to each color are two sizes, large and small fruits. Those who
have not seen and tasted the Scotch and Lancashire varieties of the
gooseberry do not know what the fruit is. In sending for them, select
a _trustworthy_ nurseryman, and request him to send, of each color,
such kinds as have proved, with him, the best; and in such numbers as
you may wish. The gooseberry delights in three things, a very rich
soil, a shady position, and a free circulation of air. If accommodated
in these respects, it will be free from mildew and give a sure and
ample crop of delicious fruit.
Hill-tops are the best sites. In gardens the open and airy parts
should be selected; in low and confined situations they mildew. Hog
manure is esteemed the best for this fruit. When the fruit begins to
set, if threatened with blight, take a moderately strong lime-water
(sulphur added will be all the better) or, if lime is not convenient,
lye from wood ashes, and drench the bushes freely with it. A large
watering-pot should be employed. Gooseberries may be increased from
cuttings like the currant, and with the same ease.
CURRANTS.—There are very few varieties of this fruit. Our common red
and white, if well cultivated, are very good. The Large Dutch Red, and
White, are much larger varieties and generally preferred in the best
Eastern gardens. Every farmer, if he has nothing else, has a long row
of currant bushes, and gets, usually, five times as many currants as
he can consume. Very few fruits have so few diseases incident to them
as the currant. It is not infested with worms, its fruit is subject to
no blight, it bears every year, is rarely affected either by severe
winters or late frosts, and we do not remember a season in our lives
when there was not, at least, a partial currant crop.
We advise those who are careful in such matters to train their
currants to a _tree form_; let a cutting be set, rub out all the buds
but two or three at the top; at about twelve or fifteen inches from
the earth let the branches put out, and never permit suckers to grow,
or branches to stand lower than this. The difficulty which some have
found in tree currants, that they are top-heavy and require staking to
prevent their being bent by winds and their own weight, arises from
having the stem too long. We have seen two feet and even more allowed.
If twelve or fifteen inches be allowed, the stem, in a few years, will
become strong enough to withstand winds and sustain its own top. Thus
formed they are beautiful to the eye, convenient for borders, allow a
free circulation of air under and through them, are easy to work in
spring or for manuring, and easy to prune, when, as should be done
every year, you take out the old wood.
Gooseberries will do better to be trained in this way, than in the
bush form. The top once formed, there is no difficulty in keeping it
so. If you are faithful to grub up every sucker for one season you
will have few to plague you after that.
Gooseberries, Raspberries, Strawberries and Currants ought to be found
in every farmer’s garden. The trouble of cultivation is slight and the
return of wholesome fruit very great. One woman can, for the most
part, bestow all the attention which they need.