Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1898-09-08
FARM AND GARDEN.
MATTERS or INTEREST TO
AoRIcULTURlsTs.
sOms Up-to.Dats Hints About oul'
tivatiOn OF tho Soil and Yields
Observation-Disclosures. vitiouItuTS and
Horticulture
sorne , 1 our neat OooaeberrIes.

Some ~ Our Best 0ooAebcrrieS.
To the fruit grower in Iowa, the
gooseberry deserves more than pass
ing notice. Its general cultivation has
been discouraged, instead OF encour-
aged, writes M, ], Wragg In Iowa State |
Register. II is one OF the few fruits
that should have more general cult
walton. On such soil as wo have In
Iowa, with climate where the goose
berry can BIO brought to its highest
perfection, We should not hesitate In
recommending tho best sorts and get
ting every farmer and gardener In the
whole land to plant more OF this fruit
II Ia tho only fruit we know OF that can
DO marketed while green, shipped thou
sands OF miles and handled. 1t has
demand In all markets and It's time OF
shipping, from the time 1t is large
enough to BIO used TO the time 1t Is
ripe, covers q period ordinarily from
two to four weeks. Just now there arc
many of our Eastern friends who are
trying to push before the public many
Of the foreign varieties, such as tho
Industry, Crown, Bob, etc. On these we
will say, go SLOW" The great enemy
Of the foreign gooseberry, the mildew'
10 ever present We have tried In the
last ten years to see II we could not
In some way overcome this disease; so
Tar II has bafled our best efforts, and
We believe that the good American
sorts are much superior to the English
gooseberry, and that 1t is blessing
that mildew attacks the English sorts
hs fast as planted. OF the American
class OF gooseberres, It is noticeable
fact that the skin Is much thinner ana
not so tart, and they are greater bear
ers than the foreign sorts, The Down
ing, which Is an old standard with us,
can always be relied upon MS q sure
fruiter, and whom given good cultiva-
tlon and ground that Is reasonably
good, we need not fear any ravages Of
mildew. It Is large fruit and when
ripe is nearly white. The Houghton
and Crystal are both giving us good re-
suits, but the Champion, which Is a
pure American, Is giving us better re-
suits, take II for number OF years,
than any sort we have. While not
quito so large as the Downing yet the
bushes are laden with fruit every year
and, on our SOIL mildcw scarcely ever
attacks the leaves or fruit, The In
dustry Is this year giving us some
fruit, yet we believe It's general plant
Ing should be discouraged, There arc
many things claimed for 1t, but we
believe that II will 80 the way OF the
rest Of the foreign gooseberrles. The
Columbus bears us a partial crop every
year Of very large fruit double the size
of the Downing; but It is not so profit
able for general cultivation. The Chau-
tauqua, q cross between our American
anG tho foreign gooseberry, gives us
the largest berry we have, take them
all through; but yet We fear that II
has 80 much foreign blood in 1t that
It will not prove a profitable fruiter
on all soils. The Red Jacket promises
we'll and we believe that by amateurs
II should be planted In a small way.
The Triumph, which Is q new sort, or
iginated in eastern Pennsylvania, and
has given us two successive crops OF
the largest berries we ever saw. We
believe that on soils where there Is a
stir clay subsoil this berry will prove
q successful berry. The Purple Gem,
which is nothing more than an Inn
proved wild gooseberry, has given us
three successive crops. 1t Is much
smaller than the Houghton and be-
comes quite red when ripe. The farm
err who does not believe in cultivation,
or who has not the time for 1t, would
better plant this sort, as 1t seems to
have the faculty of taking care Of It.
self; but yet we do not care to recon-
mend 1t, when we have such sorts as
tho Downing, Houghton, etc. We be-
lleve that the best time to plant goose
berries is in the fall. Plow your
ground we'll, plant In rows seven feet
apart and six feet apart in the rows,
There Is much talk Of late Of growing
gooseberries, currants and other fruits
OF this nature In tree form. Our ex-
perience is that this is not as good az
the bush form, as the bush form gives
more bearing surface to the plant and
tends to help renew the bushes, as sec-
lions die out, Plant rows north and
south as far as possible, as this let's the
sun in on both sides Of the row. With
good cultivation, keeping out weeds,
and good drainage, you may rest as
cured of good crop of gooseberries.