TWENTY FIFTH ANNUAL MEETING. 249 



was the best plot of ground we had. I imported 2,000 English goose- 

 berries and put them on that land; they cost us |11 per hundred in 

 Geneva. Well, we took one good crop from them, and from that time 

 they mildewed until the bushes rotted. They were on the wrong land. 

 I had raised them ten successive years, to the admiration of every one, 

 and we continued to raise them on the land where they were at first suc- 

 cessful, but I have learned to keep them off of the dry, warm, gravelly 

 knolls. 



Mr. Morrill: You are an expert market-man. What about the thick 

 skin of the Columbus, when we get to putting it on the market — would it 

 be objectionable? 



Mr. Willard: They use these English gooseberries for canning, green, 

 for turkey and duck sauce, so my wife tells me, and in my opinion it will 

 not make very much difference, the thickness of the skin. If they were 

 to be allowed to ripen and to be used as they do in Great Britain, I think 

 it would make some difference. They are the prettiest crop in the world 

 to handle, and they always bring in four or five hundred dollars when my 

 pocket-book is empty. 



Q. What about the practice obtaining in this state of picking goose- 

 berries by putting on leather gloves, and stripping berries, leaves, and 

 all, and running through the fanning-mill? 



A. I believe it is injurious. If they can not do business on business 

 principles, I would say quit. You simply take off the fruit buds that you 

 want another year. Every particle of the foliage should be left on that 

 is possible. The English gooseberries, I think, need trimming, and I 

 think those suckers should be taken out. They need thinning and trim- 

 ming, and we are always careful to do it before snow comes. You need 

 thick mittens. 



Mr. Collar: How does Columbus compare with Downing? 



Mr. Willard: I can not answer that question, because we always pick 

 them when they are green. I procured some of Elwanger & Barry, when 

 they first came out; I got four or five dozen and paid $6 per dozen, but 

 we have to be fooled with the rest of the fools, and misery loves company. 

 But, as I say, we pick them when they are green ; we never allow a goose- 

 berry to ripen, so I couldn't say as to the quality, and they always taste 

 and look, and are, pretty much alike in that condition. 



Mr. Reid: There is a difference in green gooseberries. It is a mis- 

 take, in my judgment, for people to eat all of them green, and it is our 

 practice at home not to pick them so green as they are found on the 

 market. They will rush Downing on the market when it is half grown. 

 Such gooseberries are watery and sour and lack the flavor they will have 

 if left until you can see the color of the seeds. For our own use, we let 

 the berries stay until that time. Aside from Downing, I have Smith. 

 I don't like it except for its quality. It grows in a straggling fashion, 

 and pruning won't keep it back, and neither does it bear well. But when 

 it comes to cooking, it is decidedly superior to Downing. It will form a 

 jelly in cooking, and have a very superior flavor and consistency. With 

 the same amount of sugar, it will be richer. 



Q. You mean Smith's Improved? 



A. Yes, and if one wants to grow them for sake of the quality, there 

 is a marked difference in favor of this gooseberrv. 

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