Weekly Calaveras chronicle., 1868-03-14

PRUNING THE GoosEBERRY AND
CURRANT.-In the culture of the goose
berry and currant three distinct modes
are adopted. The first, which is quite
common in this country, is plant the
bushes along garden fences, where they
often grow up with grass, and being
neither cultivated nor cared for, the
fruit becomes small and of little value.
This is the worst mode. The next is to
cultivate, but not prune them. The
fruit on such bushes is fine while they
are young, but as they become filled
with profusion of old bearing wood it
diminishes in size. The third and best
mode is to give them a good, clean cul-
tivation, and to keep up constant
supply of young bearing wood, yielding
large and excellent crops. The currant
and gooseberry, like the cherry, bear
their fruit on shoots two or more years
old; and it is important that a success
sion of strong young shoots be main
tanned for this purpose. The branches
of the heads should, therefore, be dis
tributed at equal distances, and the old
bearing spurs cut out when they become
too thick, or enfeebled, and new shoots
allowed successively to take their place.
When the young gooseberry or currant
bush is set out, all the buds or suckers
below the surface of the ground should
be previously ly cut off clean, so as to form
clear stem. 1t is often recommended
that this stem be foot highs before
branching-which does well for the
moist climate of England, but under
our hot suns it is better that the branch
es begin near the surface of the ground.
Old currant bushes, such as have grown
up thick mass, may be greatly i'm
proved, and will increase the fruit sew
eral times the size, by thinning out
clean all the old crooked wood, and
leaving a sufficient umber of stems at
equal distances to bear the future crop.
The English gooseberry, in this country,
will remain free from mildew, only so
long as it is kept in vigorous, grow
ing condition, by frequent and judicious
pruning, so as to give constant sue
cession Of strong oots.-Hananaonton
Culturist.
CoNcE1r.-Hardly anything is more
contemplate than conceit which rests
merely upou social position, the conceit
of those who imagine that they are thus
divorced from the clay of common
men, of those who shrink with horror
from the idea Of work, as something
which degrades from its very contact,
and yet who, ever likely, owe their
present position to some not remote
ancestor who, recognizing his call to
work, lived more honestly in the world
than they do, and was not ashamed of
soiled thumbs. 1t is one of the mean
est things for people to be ashamed
of the work from which they draw
their income, and which gloriied their
ancestors more with their soiled apron
and black gowns, than themselves with
their fine ribbons and flashing jewelry.
1t might be fine thing to be like the
lilies, more gloriously arrayed than
Solomon, and doing nothing, as if we
were lilies. Advantageous position is
only more emphatic call to work and
while those who hold the advantage may
not be compelled 70 manual drudgery,
they should recognize the fact that
manual drudgery may be performed in
the same spirit as that which character
ICES their own work, and therefore that
it is equally honorable.