THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



Maplehurst on a dwarf tree, is very 

 favorable. 



Fruit, above medium size, irregular obo- 

 vate ; skin pale green at harvesting time, 

 yellowing somewhat toward maturity, with 

 numerous russet dots, russet patches around 

 the stem and calyx and often a brownish 

 check. Stem, about one inch long, stout, 

 swollen at base, set in a narrow, deep 

 cavity ; calyx small, closed, set in a much 



plaited basin of moderate depth. Flesh : 

 color white, texture fine, melting and juicy ; 

 flavor, sweet and agreeable. 



Season — ^January to May, under ordinary 

 conditions. 



Quality — Dessert, good. 



Value — Export, good. 



Adaptation — Southern parts of the prov- 



CHOICE VARIETIES OF GOOSEBERRIES. 



BY STANLEY SPILLETT, FRUIT STATION, NANTYRE. 



Tlie Question. — What variety or varieties of 

 gooseberries do you advise one to plant for 

 profit? 



This question has been asked more 

 frequently than any other and is difficult to 

 answer, but, as I have had quite an experi- 

 ence along this line, I will give, in as few 

 words as possible, the conclusions I have 

 come to. 



The gooseberry is not a popular fruit and 

 I am satisfied this unfavorable opinion arose 

 from the custom of canning or preserving it 

 green, as we did ourselves years ago. 



Nine people out of ten will tell you they 

 have no use for gooseberries. I have asked a 

 good many why they put up their gooseber- 

 ries green any more than their plums, and the 

 only reason given was " the skin of the fruit 

 becomes tough and disagreeable if allowed 

 to get ripe." This is true of a good many 

 of the foreign varieties but not of our own 

 native varieties. 



Large vs. Small Berries. — Growers often 

 say if they were able to grow the large 

 berries they would have no trouble in finding 

 a market. I am certain this is an error ; 

 people do not buy the gooseberry because it 

 is small or large, cheap or dear, but because 

 they fancy they do not like it ; but I have 



never met a man yet who said he had no use 

 for the gooseberry preserved, but who, if he 

 ate it or was induced to buy a basket of ripe 

 fruit, quickly changed his mind. 



Fifteen years ago 1 sold 20 twelve quart 

 baskets ripe to neighbors, mostly farmers. 

 Three baskets went to Lefroy, one to each 

 store and one to hotel. Every year since, 

 these same people want to get their basket 

 of ripe gooseberries, and the hotel, noted for 

 its good table, takes 3 or 4 baskets. Nearly 

 all these people put in their order a year 

 ahead, for fear they will miss getting them. 



Now many of these have tried the large 

 varieties, but, in every case, have pro- 

 nounced in favor of the medium sized berries 

 such as Downing, Pearl and Red Jacket. 

 One gentleman said "the big berry is no 

 better than the medium berry, and most of 

 our family say not so good, so the only ad- 

 vantage with the big berry is that it can be 

 cleaned a little more quickly." Our own ex- 

 perience is just the same. Year before last 

 we kept all our large berries for our own 

 use ; last year we sold the large and used 

 Pearl and Red Jacket, and in our opinion 

 the smaller berry is the nicer. 



Foreign Varieties. — Of the fifty varieties 

 sent to»this station from England, fully 40 



