8 ^•^LiJic/'icutt Gooseberries. 



brancli ; with a tough skin, wild flora, and disposed to bang long upon the Lush. 

 Both this and the Houghton, are red in color. 



8d. The " Smith's Inij)roved." — This variety presents the habit of crowth, slender 

 branches, and moderately rapid growth of the Houghton, with much larger fruit, of 

 a pale yellow or greenish yellow color, and excellent flavor, thin skin, and excellent 

 table and cooking qualities. More vigor of growth in this sort would be desirable ; 

 its disposition to be a very heavy crop of fruit being prominent. 



I am inclined to think pruning and liberal culture will suit this variety, and with 

 these, I do not see how it can fail to please. The accompanying cut was correctly 

 drawn from a well grown plant in full fruit. 



4th. The "Downing.'' — This sort grows more in the style of some of the foreign 

 varieties, but with much greater rapidity and vigor of root and branch. It has stout 

 heavy wood, very thorny, and with an abundant rich foliage, which, in our grounds 

 resisted all disease, and held on with remarkable persistence, until severe freezing 

 removes it. This heavy foliage proves of value to the fruit, not only in the certainty 

 of maturity, but by shielding it from sun scalding, which sometimes injures other sorts. 



T cannot say that 1 have found the fruit of "Downing " any great improvement in 

 flavor over the " Houghton ; " but it is twice as large, and the pale green color is 

 preferable, as most of the gooseberry crop is now used for various cooking and 

 canning purposes : it will, I think, be found that its increased size, remarkable vigor 

 and productiveness, good color and certain crop, will place it among the real ac- 

 quisitions in this fruit. 



I look upon these new sorts as additions of real merit in themselves; and a strong 

 assurance that from their progeny, we may reasonably expect soon to see a list of 

 gooseberries possessing all the good qualities of the foreign sorts ; with the added 

 recommendation, that they are perfectly adapted by nature to our climate. When 

 we have those improved sorts, we shall find an extensive use, and enlarged market 

 for the fruit now so little valued. 



Careful observation of the result of crop-breeding by artificial fertilization in 

 plants, shows that in every case a really mw individual appears, in fact a new crea- 

 tion from the hand of the Divine architect, whose thought and power to produce 

 infinite and pleasing variety out of seemingly common material appears ; and every 

 time we rely upon Him to give us useful results for our care and labor, he is pleased 

 to respond ; slowly perhaps, but really ; there being no limit to his resources, there 

 will be no end to the variety, the beauty, the interest, and the improvement which 

 we may reasonably expect. Changes from old forms are sometimes slow, and family 

 traits hard to eradicate, but they will appear in due time if we are wise, patient, ami 

 industrious in pursuing our work. 



When a man takes tools in hand, and attempts to work a plant up to his idea of 

 what it should be, he may partially or wholly succeed in illustrating a human 

 thought, as men do who prune, train, and hedge; but when he goes to the seed form, 

 and carefully develops by culture, and by giving favorable conditions to the in- 

 dividuals, which the Creator has designed, he may fairly expect to see developments 

 of beauty and value, as much beyond man's work, as God's thoughts are beyond and 

 above our thoughts. 



Rochester, N. Y. 



