14 THE SUBURBANITE'S HANDBOOK 



Peaches, apricots and nectarines may be classed together. They 

 will ordinarily grow in the open air in many parts of the United 

 States, though in some regions the climate is too severe for them. 

 By dwarfing they become hardier, and when grown in pots may be 

 shifted without difficulty, after the fruit has been picked in the fall, 

 to the protection of the orchard house or cellar, and again be set out 

 in the open border to blossom and bear fruit in the summer. 



A few plums and cherries should also have a place in the garden, 

 as the can be dwarfed, while the cherries may be saved from the 

 exorbitant toll invariably taken by the birds off high trees. Figs, 

 too, though seldom grown outside of California and the Southern 

 states, can be grown in the open air if given the protection of the 

 cellar in the cold weather and exposed to warm and sheltered spots 

 in the summer. Currants, both white, red and black, are very desir- 

 able, nor do they take any more room than the dwarf trees. The 

 gooseberry is a fruit not adapted to the hot portions of the United 

 States, but in the cooler regions, is a most luscious fruit to eat out 

 of hand when fully ripe and one that Americans know very little 

 about, judging it from the green, sour, unripe fruit usually seen in 

 our markets. In reality there are varieties of the gooseberry more 

 luscious than any grape when fully ripe. Great attention has been 

 paid to improving this fruit in England both as to size and quality. 

 They now come in a large variety ; large, medium and small ; red, 

 white, green, yellow; hairy and smooth; late and early in ripening, 

 and if allowed to ripen fully, all are delicious to eat out of hand, and 

 if better known would be more appreciated in this country. For 

 many years great improvement has been made in England in the 

 growth and quality of the gooseberry as well as their training, owing 

 to the practice of giving prizes for the best berries grown each year. 

 This is particularly exemplified in the county of Lancashire, where 

 the vast number of mill operatives are encouraged to compete with 

 one another in producing the finest fruits. One of the greatest im- 

 provements is in training as a cordon (see cut) for the trellis or 

 wall. Heretofore it was no joke to pick gooseberries unless one was 

 provided with a good pair of gloves to protect themselves from the 

 thorns, but now by training as cordons, on wires, or walls, this 

 trouble is avoided. So universal is the culture of this fruit in Eng- 

 land that leading nursery men furnish lists of over 100 varieties, all 

 having received one or more prizes in different seasons. 



Grapes may be grown as dwarfs either in pots or on the Cali- 



