GROSSULARIE^:. I. RISES. 



179 



/^czeu/ar-spined Gooseberry. Shrub. 



17 R. GROSSUIA'RIA (Lin. spec. p. 291.) prickles 2 or 3 under 

 each bud ; branches otherwise smooth, and spreading or erect ; 

 pedicels 1-2-flowered ; leaves 3-5-lobed, rather villous ; brae- 

 teas close together ; calyx campanulate, with reflexed segments, 

 which are shorter than the tube ; petals rounded at the apex, 

 glabrous, but bearded in the throat ; style always beset with 

 long down. ?j . H. Native of Europe and Nipaul, in woods 

 and hedges ; plentiful in some parts of Britain, in hedges, 

 thickets, and waste ground, as the woods and hedges about 

 Darlington ; apparently wild in Hamilton wood, Scotland. 

 Smith, eng. hot. 1292. R. UVa-crispa, Oed. fl. dan. t. 546. 

 Grossularia hirsuta, Mill. diet. no. 2. R. UVa-crispa var. 

 sativum, D. C. fl. fr. 4. p. 408. Flench, icon. 148. The Nipaul 

 plant has the stem thickly beset with bristles, and the spines 

 strong and 3-parted. It is therefore probably a proper species. 



Var. j3, U*va-crispa (Smith, engl. fl. 1. p. 333.) plant beset 

 with spines all over ; leaves small, rather villous ; berries smaller, 

 glabrous. Tj . H. R. UVa-crispa, Lin. spec. 292. Smith, eng. 

 bot. 2057. UVa-crispa, Fuch's hist. t. 187. UVa spina, Math, 

 valgr. 1. t. 151. f. 1. Black w. herb. 277. Plench. icon. t. 149. 

 Duham. arbr. 1. t. 109. Berlandier, 1. c. t. 1. f. 6. R. UVa- 

 crispa var. a sylvestre, Berland. 1. c. mss. 



Var, y, spinosissimum (Berl. mss.) plant spiny all over ; prickles 

 scattered, reflexed. Native of Europe in stony places- 

 Far. S, reclinatum (Berl. mss.) branches rather prickly, recli- 

 nate. R. reclinatum, Lin. spec. 291. Grossularia reclinata, 

 Mill. diet. no. 1. 



Var. t, Besseriana (Berl. mss.) branches prickly ; fruit pubes- 

 cent, intermixed with glandular bristles. Native of Cracovia, 

 in hedges. R. hybridum, Besser. prim. fl. galic. austr. p. 186. 



Var. f, subenerme (Berl. mss.) plant nearly glabrous ; bark 

 smooth, brown ; prickles axillary ; flowers and leaves small. 

 Native about Geneva. Perhaps a variety of /f. reclinalum. 



Var. r\, macrocdrpmn (D. C. prod. 3. p. 478.) stigmas often 

 longer than the petals ; flowers and berries large. 



Var. 8, bracteatum (Berl. mss.) berries clothed with 2-4-5 

 straight coloured, nearly opposite, bracteas and bristles, emulat- 

 ing sepals, which fall off before the berry arrives at maturity. 



The gooseberry is called Groseille a maquereau, in French ; 

 Uva-spino in Italian ; Stachelbeerstrauch, in German ; in Scot- 

 land it is called Groseir ; in Piedmont, where the gooseberry is 

 found wild, and where the Italian botanists state the berries to 

 be eatable, but astringent and neglected, it is called Griselle. 

 Some derive our name gooseberry from gorzeberry, from the re- 

 semblance of the bush to gorze ; others, as Professor Martyn, 

 from its being used as sauce with young or green geese. Gerarde 

 says it is called feaberry (feverberry) in Cheshire ; and it has 

 the same name in Lancashire and Yorkshire. In Norfolk this 

 term is shortened to feabes, or, as they pronounce it fapes. 

 Carberry is another British name for this fruit. 



The gooseberry is a low, branching, prickly shrub, bearing 

 pendulous, hairy, or smooth berries, of various colours ; it is a 

 native of several parts of Europe, and abounds in the Vallais, 

 in copsewoods, where it produces a small, green, hairy, high- 

 flavoured fruit. In England it is naturalized in various places, 

 as on old walls, ruins, and in the woods and hedges about Dar- 

 lington. It is cultivated in greater perfection in Lancashire than 

 in any other part of Britain ; and next to Lancashire the cli- 

 mate and treatment of the Lothians seem to suit this fruit. In 

 Spain and Italy the fruit is scarcely known. In France it is 

 neglected and little esteemed. In some parts of Germany and 

 Holland the moderate temperature and humidity of the climate 

 seem to suit the fruit ; but in no country is its size and beauty 

 to be compared with that produced in Lancashire, or from the 

 Lancashire varieties, cultivated with care, in the more temperate 



and humid districts of Britain. Neill observes, that when 

 foreigners witness our Lancashire gooseberries, they are ready 

 to consider them as forming quite a different kind of fruit. 

 Happily this wholesome and useful fruit is to be found in almost 

 every cottage-garden in Britain ; and it ought to be considered 

 apart of every gardener's duty to encourage the introduction of 

 its most useful varieties in their humble enclosures. In Lan- 

 cashire, and some parts of the adjoining counties, almost every 

 cottager, who has a garden, cultivates the gooseberry, with a 

 view to prizes, given at what are called Gooseberry-prize Meet- 

 ings, of which there is annually published an account, with the 

 names and weight of the successful sorts, in what is called the 

 Manchester Gooseberry Book. The prizes vary from 1 1. to 51. 

 or 10/. The second, third, to the sixth and tenth degree of 

 merit, receiving often proportionate prizes. There are meetings 

 held in spring, to " make up," as the term is, the sorts, the 

 persons, and the conditions of exhibition ; and in August to weigh 

 and taste the fruit, and determine the prizes. 



Use. The fruit was formerly in little esteem ; but it has 

 received so much improvement, that it is now considered very 

 valuable for tarts, pies, sauces, and creams, before being ripe, 

 and when at maturity, it forms a rich dessert fruit for three 

 months ; and is preserved in sugar for the same purpose, arid 

 in water for the kitchen. Unripe gooseberries can be preserved 

 in bottles of water against winter ; the bottles are filled with 

 berries, close corked, and well sealed ; they are then placed in 

 a cool cellar till wanted. By plunging the bottles, after being 

 corked, into boiling water, for a few minutes (heating them gra- 

 dually to prevent cracking), the berries are said to keep better." 

 Neill. 



Varieties. The gooseberry is mentioned by Turner, in 1573. 

 Parkinson enumerates 8 varieties ; the small, great, and long 

 common, 3 reds, 1 blue, and 1 green. Ray mentions only the 

 pearl gooseberry, but Rea has the blue, several sorts of yellow, 

 the white Holland, and the green. Miller only says, there are 

 several varieties obtained from seed, most of them named from 

 the persons who raised them ; but as there are frequently new 

 ones obtained, it is needless to enumerate them. The present list 

 of the London nurserymen contains from 80 to 100 names, but 

 those of some of the Lancashire growers above 300. Forsyth, 

 in 1800, mentions 10 sorts as common; and adds a list of 

 43 new sorts, grown at Manchester. The following may be 

 considered established varieties, and such as merit cultivation. 



List of gooseberries. Those marked with a star may be con- 

 sidered the best ; the rest only second rate. 



I. Fruit green. 



1 . Branches spreading or pendulous. 

 * Berries smooth, green. 



1 Barclay's green champagne. Fruit roundish, middle-sized. 



2 Perring's evergreen. Fruit large, oblong. 



3 Fame. Fruit large, obovate. Branches pendulous. 



4 Bates' s favourite. Fruit oblong, middle-sized. Branches 

 pendulous. 



5 Glory of Kingston. Fruit roundish, middle-sized. 



6 Allen's glory of Ratcliff. Fruit oblong, middle-sized.* 



7 fforsefield's green gage. Fruit large, roundish. 



8 Green globe. Fruit round, middle-sized. 



9 Nixon's green myrtle. Fruit large, oblong. Branches 

 pendulous. 



10 Berry's greenwood. Fruit large, oblong. Branches pen- 

 dulous. 



1 1 Massey's heart of oak. Fruit large, oblong. Bran ches 

 pendulous.* 



Aa 2 



