i 



378 FKUITS I Chap. X. 



Pastime gooseberry " extra bracts are often attached to the sides of 

 the fruit." 124 



The most interesting point in the history of the gooseberry is the 

 steady increase in the size of the fruit. Manchester is the metro- 

 polis of the fanciers, and prizes from five shillings to five or ten 

 pounds are yearly given for the heaviest fruit. The ' Gooseberry 

 Grower's Register' is published annually ; the earliest known copy 

 is dated 1786, but it is certain that meetings for the adjudication of 

 prizes were held some years previously. 125 The f Register ' for 1845 

 gives an account of 171 Gooseberry Shows, held in different places 

 during that year ; and this fact shows on how large a scale the 

 culture has been carried on. The fruit of the wild gooseberry is 

 said lL6 to weigh about a quarter of an ounce or 5 dwts , that is, 120 

 grains ; about the year 1786 gooseberries were exhibited weighing 

 dwts., so that the weight was then doubled; in 1817 26 dwts. 17 

 grs. was attained ; there was no advance till 1825, when 31 dwts. 

 16 grs. was reached ; in 1830 " Teazer " weighed 32 dwts. 13 grs. ; 

 in 1841 " Wonderful " weighed 32 dwts. 16 grs. ; in 1844 " London " 

 weighed 35 dwts. 12 grs., and in the following year 36 dwts. 16 

 grs. ; and in 1852, in Staffordshire, the fruit of the same variety 

 reached the astonishing weight of 37 dwts. 7 grs., 127 or 896 grs. ; 

 that is, between seven or eight times the weight of the wild fruit. 

 I find that a small apple, 6^ inches in circumference, has exactly 

 this same weight. The " London " gooseberry (which in 1852 had 

 altogether gained 333 prizes) has, up to the present year of 1875, 

 never reached a greater weight than that attained in 1852. Perhaps 

 the fruit of the gooseberry has now reached the greatest possible 

 weight, unless in the course of time some new and distinct variety 

 shall arise. 



This gradual, and on the whole steady increase of weight from 

 the latter part of the last century to the year 1852, is probably in 

 large part d ue to improved methods of cultivation, for extreme care 

 is now taken ; the branches and roots are trained, composts are 

 made, the soil is mulched, and only a few berries are left on each 

 bush ; 128 but the increase no doubt is in main part due to the con- 

 tinued selection of seedlings which have been found to be more and 

 more capable of yielding such extraordinary fruit. Assuredly the 

 " Highwayman" in 1817 could not have produced fruit like that of 

 the "Roaring Lion" in 1825; nor could the "Roaring Lion," though 

 it was grown by many persons in many places, gain the supreme 

 triumph achieved in 1852 by the " London " Gooseberry. 



124 'Catalogue of Fruits of Hort. m ' Gardener's Chronicle,' 1844, p. 



Soc. Garden,' 3rd edit. 1842. 811, where a table is given; and 1845, 



m Mr. Clarkson, of Manchester, on p. 819. For the extreme weights 



the Culture of the Gooseberry, in gained, see ' Journal of Horticulture,' 



Loudon's 'Gardener's Magazine,' vol. Julv 26, 1864, p. 61. 

 iv. 1828, p. 482. 128 Mr. Saul, of Lancaster, in Lou- 



126 Downing's ' Fruits of America,' don's ' Gardener's Mag.,' vol. iii. 1828, 



p. 213. p. 421 ; and vol. x. 1834, p. 42. 



