54 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



Hardy Gooseberries. 



How little has been done to obtain gooseberries adapted to 

 special conditions. In most places in America the English goose- 

 berries mildew badly and it would be a fine thing if there were 

 varieties originated which would be immune to this disease, no 

 matter how adverse the conditions were. Such reliable American 

 varieties, or hybrid gooseberries, as we have were originated some 

 time ago. The Downing, and a Canadian variety very much like 

 it, the Pearl, among green gooseberries, and the Josselyn or Red 

 Jacket another Canadian gooseberry among red skinned varieties, 

 are among the best for the East, but these do not succeed under 

 cold prairie conditions, the old Houghton being found much 

 hardier. In the Western States the Oregon Champion is the 

 popular sort. Not only must varieties be immune from mildew 

 but they must be able to withstand the heat of the sun in other 

 districts and not scald as some gooseberries do today in certain 

 places. 



Hardy Currants. 



The red currant is not so important a fruit in the East as it is 

 on the plains to the West and North where its great hardiness 

 makes it one of the most valuable fruits. The large fruited varie- 

 ties of the Fay and Cherry types at present on the market are 

 much tenderer than the smaller ones of the Red Dutch and Raby 

 Castle types. The former were evidently derived from stock of the 

 red currant from near its southern range in Europe and indeed the 

 Cherry currant probably originated in Italy. It was introduced 

 thence into France and fruited there in 1843 and was subsequently 

 brought to America. Fay originated in 1868 with Lincoln Fay, 

 Chautauqua Co., N. Y., and was introduced about 1883. It is 

 probably a seedling of the Cherry. These varieties, although among 

 the largest fruiting sorts, are not quite hardy at Ottawa and the 

 crop from them is small. Considering the difference in size between 

 these large fruited currants and the Red Dutch there is giveat 

 room for the development of larger fruited hardy sorts especially 

 suited to cold climates. The quality of currants could also be much 



