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The Cornell Reading-Courses 



THE GOOSEBERRY 



The gooseberry is a neglected fruit and deserves more of the attention 

 of growers. It has been a favored fruit in England for a long time, prob- 

 ably as early as the sixteenth century; but according to Bailey * the 

 first mention in literature of cultivated varieties in America was in 1849, 

 when Goodrich, writing in the Northern Fruit Culturist, says: "We 

 have it from good authority that native sorts have been discovered both 

 in New Hampshire and Vermont, well adapted to garden culture." The 

 Houghton seedling, which was the first improved variety, was exhibited 



Fig. 251. — A row of gooseberries; variety, Poorman 



before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1847. vSoon after, in 

 1853, the Downing, a seedling of the Houghton, was introduced. Later 

 our other commercial varieties developed. 



The lack of favor that the gooseberry has received may be partially 

 explained, perhaps, by the fact that we use it when green and sour. In 

 this condition it is not at all tempting. If it could be left on the \4nes 

 until fully ripened, the flavor would be greatly improved. On the other 

 hand, the fact that we do use it hard and green has an advantage. In this 

 condition it is more cheaply handled and will hold up better when shipped. 



* " The Evolution of Our Native Fruits," by L. H. Bailey, p. 390. 



