834 LUTHER BURBANK 



or retained the habit of bearing prickles both on 

 the stem and often on the fruit itself. 



This is the practical distinction between the 

 gooseberry and other varieties of currants. All 

 the plants of this tribe belong to the same genus. 

 There are several species in California that 

 puzzle a botanist as to whether they should be 

 classified as currants or gooseberries. 



In Europe, and particularly in England, the 

 gooseberry has been cultivated with the greatest 

 possible care and through selection the fruit has 

 been brought to a very large size, superior qual- 

 ity, and unusual productiveness. 



But unfortunately the thorns have never been 

 eliminated, except in the case of one or two 

 inferior varieties. These were offered several 

 years ago by an English firm, but their quality 

 of fruit was so inferior that they have not be- 

 come popular. 



It has already been mentioned that I was able 

 to hybridize the gooseberry and the currant. 

 The cross is very difficult to make, however, and 

 in my experience the hybrids were sterile. This 

 suggested that the two plants, notwithstanding 

 their affinities as judged from the standpoint of 

 the botanist, have really diverged rather widely. 



But there are many species of gooseberry 

 as well as of currant, and it would doubtless 



