94 FRUIT AND ITS CULTIVATION, 



CHAPTER XIII. 

 The Gooseberry. 



THE GOOSEBERRY of gardens is a cultivated variety of the 

 Wild Gooseberry (Ribes Uva-crispa), a European species. 

 The wild form is occasionally met with in the Eastern 

 and Northern Counties. It does not appear to have been 

 known to the Greeks and the Romans, as they do not 

 allude to it in their writings. 



The earliest mention of the fruit occurs in the reign 

 of Edward I., 1276, plants of it being purchased 

 and planted in the King's garden at Westminster. 

 Tusser, in his work on " Husbandry," published in King 

 Henry VIII. 's time, refers to it in the following quaint 

 lines: 



" The barberry, respis, and gooseberry, too, 

 Look now to be planted, as other things doe." 



Lord Bacon also mentions the Gooseberry as one of 

 the earliest fruits. In Gerarde's time (sixteenth cen- 

 tury) Gooseberries were extensively grown in gardens. 

 Hence the fruit being so well known, and so universally 

 grown, it has found favour with rich and poor alike. 



In Lancashire, more especially, Gooseberries were 

 grown during the early part of last century with great 

 success by the weavers and colliers. . Gooseberry shows 

 were popular features, and growers vied with each other 

 in endeavouring to produce the biggest berries, for the 

 chief point of excellence at these shows was the largest 

 and heaviest berries. The workers used to spend hours 

 in their gardens in training their trees, and in feeding 

 them so as to secure the heaviest berry, and win the 

 coveted prize. As showing the immense size of some 

 of these fruits obtained by Lancashire growers? we may 

 mention a variety named London, one berry of which 



