THE SMALL FRUITS OF NEW YORK 319 



At no time in the history of the country was pomology a matter of wider 

 and more common concern to people on the land and in cities than this. 

 But the pomological books, magazines, societies, exhibitions, and the efforts 

 of individuals a hundred years ago and several decades after were directed 

 toward the introduction of foreign fruits rather than the domestication of 

 native fruits and the breeding of American varieties. The progress America 

 has made in domesticating native fruits and the adaptation of varieties of 

 European fruits to American environments, remarkable achievements in 

 the history of agriculture, came after 1850. 



In the first edition of his American Fruit CuUurist, 1846, Thomas does 

 not mention the Houghton or any other American variety of the gooseberry. 

 Not imtil the fourth edition, 1850, does it find a place in his book, and Down- 

 ing in Fruits and Fruit Trees does not mention it until the edition of i860. 

 Yet, as its history, given in the discussion of the variety in Chapter XIII 

 shows, it must have been widely grown at this time. 



In common with other European fruits, European gooseberries were 

 now recognized as failures on this side of the Atlantic, and far-sighted 

 pomologists were recommending the domestication and breeding of fruits 

 and varieties adapted to American conditions. In 1847, Hovey,' a veteran 

 pomological writer, had this to say of gooseberries in his admirable Magazine 

 of Horticulture : 



" Houghton's Seedling Gooseberry. — The exhibition of some very fine 

 specimens of this variety, at a late meeting of the Horticultural Society, 

 reminds us that we have neglected to notice it before. The great diffi- 

 culty attending the growth of the large and fine sorts of English goose- 

 berries is, that, in most localities, the berries are rendered worthless by 

 the attacks of mildew; and the consequent disappointment has induced 

 many to give up their cultivation altogether. Mr. Houghton's gooseberr,- 

 is a seedling from our native kind, produced some time ago and is consider- 

 ably cultivated in Lynn, where Mr. Houghton resides. It is of only 

 moderate size, btit possesses a fine flavor, is a most extraordinary bearer 

 and in all seasons is remarkably free from mildew. The specimens which 

 we have seen, induce us to recommend it for general cultivation, especially 

 in situations where the large English sorts cannot be grown. We have no 

 doubt, that with proper attention in the selection of seeds from the largest 

 berries, other and improved sorts may be raised from this, and eventually 

 a progeny of large fruited kinds, equal to the English, but possessing all 

 the adaptation to our variable climate of the parent plant. We trust our 

 hints may be acted upon by amateurs who have the leisure to do so." 



• JMog. flow. 13:422. 1847. 



