REPORT OF MR. W. S. BLAIR 



377 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



STRAWBERRIES— TEST OF VARIETIES. 



OLD PLOTS. 



GOOSEBERRIES. 



The gooseberries have never made a strong growth, especially the English varieties. 

 The soil is a heavy clay loam which dries out considerably in the summer. The goose- 

 berry mildew which we have been able heretofore to control fairly well has this season 

 been almost impossible to keep in check. The crop of all the English varieties, except 

 Whitesmith and Industry, was ruined, and the yield of fruit was not large. 



The English varieties of gooseberries while much larger than the American sorts 

 are not regarded here as of much better quality, and the latter are much more vigorous 

 here. The Red Jacket is an exceptionally fine variety. It together with Downing are 

 two of the best sorts grown here. The Houghton is a large yielder, and the fruit is of 

 good quality, but is small. The Whitesmith is the best of the fourteen varieties of 

 English gooseberries tested. The common practice seems to be to pick this fruit long 

 before it has commenced to ripen. Its quality for preserving is in our opinion greatly 

 improved when allowed to partially ripen before picking. 



