THE CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY. 265 



be a native of Britain; or, at all events, the period 

 of its introduction is unknown. The berries are 

 larger than those of the red or the white, but they 

 are not so juicy; and the crop upon a single bush is 

 less abundant. Their taste is peculiar, and to some 

 disagreeable; they are supposed to have medicinal 

 qualities which do not belong to the other species of 

 currants. They answer well for tarts and puddings; 

 they can be made into a very pleasant jelly, which, 

 in village pharmacy, is recommended in cases of sore 

 throat; and they make a very good rob (souring) for 

 flavouring liquors. The leaves of the black currant 

 have a strong taste, especially in the early part of the 

 season; and if a small portion be mixed with black 

 tea, the flavour is changed to one resembling that of 

 green. On this account, it is suspected that those 

 leaves are pretty extensively used in the adulteration 

 of tea, the coarser sort of black being coloured 

 green by moistening it with vinegar, laying it upon 

 heated plates of copper till it be shrivelled into small 

 balls, and mixing it with black currant leaves, which 

 have also been shrivelled by heat. If this process 

 has been employed the tea will discolour a silver 

 spoon. 



There are thirty-five varieties of the currant speci- 

 fied in the fruit catalogue of the' Horticultural So- 

 ciety ; but there is perhaps no class of fruits in which 

 so much ignorance exists as to the merits and dif- 

 ference of the varieties. It is stated to be impossible 

 to obtain the different kinds with certainty from the 

 nurseries. 



The Gooseberry (Ribes grossularia} , if not a native 

 of Britain, is yet a fruit much better adapted to 

 cold than to warm climates. It was cultivated here 

 in the time of Tusser, a writer on husbandry, 



VOL. u. 5* 



