2 3 



Success with Small Fruits. 



not propagate readily from cuttings, and therefore I increase it usually 

 by layering. 



The second seedling is Smith's Improved, a comparatively new variety 

 that is winning favor. It more closely resembles the Houghton in its 



Downing Gooseberry. 



habit of growth than the Downing, and yet is more vigorous and upright 

 than its parent. The fruit is considerably larger than the Houghton, oval, 

 light green, with a bloom, moderately firm, sweet and good. 



Mountain Seedling, originating with the Shakers at Lebanon, New 

 York, is the largest of the American varieties, but for some reason it does 

 not gain in popularity. 



Cluster, or American Red, is an old variety of unknown origin. The 

 ancestral bush may have been found in the woods. The fruit is scarcely 

 as large as that of the Houghton, is darker in color when fully ripe, hangs 

 long on the bush, and is sweet and good. Mr. P. Barry z*\ s that it never 

 mildews. Therefore, it should be made one of the parents of new 

 varieties, for in this direction lies the future of this fruit in America. 



In support of this opinion, I am led to quote the following letter, 

 recently received : 



" I write to call your attention to a native variety of gooseberry, of which you 

 make no mention in your Scribner papers, growing in great abundance in the Sierra 

 Nevada, at an elevation of from 2,000 to 3,000 feet, often in the most exposed 

 places, generally on northern slopes. Thinking it may not have come to your 



