220 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



THE BUSH FRUITS 



Currants and gooseberries grow wild in both 

 the Old and the New World, and are cultivated 

 in a multitude of improved varieties. These are 

 tart, spicy fruits, fine for jelly and jams, and for 

 stewing, green or ripe. The largest gooseberries 

 are the size of plums, and sweet enough to eat out 

 of hand. The cherry currants are equally fine as 

 dessert fruit in the natural state, when fully ripe. 



We who have picked the small, but sprightly, 

 green gooseberries of the woods, both the prickly 

 and the smooth ones, know that no cultivated 

 form, no matter how mild it is, can excel in rich 

 flavor the sauce they make. It is worth while 

 to grow wild gooseberries, in order to have them 

 spiced for serving with roast fowl and game in 

 winter. 



FINE WILD BERRIES 



Cranberries grow in boggy land in various parts 

 of North America, and Europe, and require to be 

 flooded during the winter time to keep the plants 

 from freezing and being heaved out of the ground. 

 Flooding of the lower parts of the plants during 

 growing time is practised; but with the approach 

 of autumn, which is the season of harvest, the 



