26* VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES, 



the thinness of the husk. Some of the larger greens, 

 especially those that are smooth, gourd-shaped, and 

 of a brownish tinge, are almost tasteless, or even dis- 

 agreeable. 



The red gooseberries are very various in flavour, 

 but are commonly more acid than the others. The 

 same may be said of most other fruits ; and it agrees 

 with the well-known fact that acids change the vege- 

 table blues to red. In many fruits, and the goose- 

 berry in particular, the amber colour is accompanied 

 by the richest vinous flavour, while the white tends 

 to insipidity. When the green is deep and pure, 

 sweetness seems to be the leading characteristic, as 

 in the Gascoigne gooseberry, the green-gage plum, 

 and the small green summer pear, known in Scotland 

 by the name of tlie " Pinkey green." Among the 

 red gooseberries there are, however, many exceptions. 

 Some of the older and smaller red sorts (especially that 

 known by the name of the " old ironmonger'') are 

 very sweet. It would be unavailing to fix upon any 

 particular "kind of gooseberry as the best, as every 

 year produces new varieties. In the fruit catalogue 

 of the Horticultural Society there are nearly two hun- 

 dred kinds enumerated, of which about a hundred 

 and fifty are the large Lancashire gooseberries. 



The cultivation of gooseberries forms a pleasing occu- 

 pation amongst the manufacturers of that part of the 

 kingdom ; and the custom has doubtless a tendency 

 to improve both the health and the morals of the 

 people. Any pursuit which makes men acquainted 

 with the peculiarities of vegetable economy, in how- 

 ever small a degree, has a beneficial effect upon the 

 heart and understanding : and it is certainly better for 

 weavers and nailers to \\e with each other in rai-iing 

 the largest gooseberries, than in those games of 

 chance or cruel sports, to which the few leisure hours 

 of the working classes are too often devoted. The 

 one is a rational and innocent emulation ; the other^ 



