The Lady's Country Companion; Or, How to Enjoy a Country Life RationallyLoudon, Mrs. (Jane)
General
The Lady's Country Companion; Or, How to Enjoy a Country Life Rationally
Loudon, Mrs. (Jane)
Cooking; Country life; Home economics
_Gooseberries_ are generally propagated by cuttings, which strike
easily; and they should be grown in soil which is well drained, and
well manured by a coating of rotten dung being laid upon it every
third year. The bushes should be planted in rows eight or ten feet
apart, the plants being about six feet from each other. They should be
pruned twice a year; in the winter to remove the branches not likely to
produce fruit, and early in summer to remove those shoots that are not
likely to ripen. The fruit is produced partly on the old and partly on
the young wood, and it should be thinned when gathered green for pies
and puddings, by taking only a few from each bush, instead of gathering
all that may be wanted from one.
_Currants_ are raised from cuttings generally about a foot long, all
the buds from which are taken off, except five or six at the top; and
the cutting is then firmly fixed in the soil about six inches deep. The
currant bears chiefly on spurs of the old wood, so that these only are
generally left in the winter pruning. The currant is very hardy, and
will grow in any soil or situation, even under the drip of trees.
_Raspberries_ always bear on the young shoots, so that the art of
pruning them consists in cutting out the old wood. They are propagated
by suckers, and thrive best in a light rich soil, and an open situation.
The _cranberry_ is generally grown in moist soil or peat earth; but
it may be grown in beds in the common garden like the strawberry.
When cranberries are once planted they require no after care, except
removing the runners when they extend too far.
Having now, I believe, told you a little, though I confess not much,
of all the kinds of trees and shrubs usually grown in this country
for their fruit, I have only to say a few words of strawberries
and tart-rhubarb, and then I think I shall have given you all the
information you will require for so small a garden as yours.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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