VI. LIST OF FRUITS. 



rants and gooseberries until late in the fall, if you have 

 preserved them until they be ripe, it is a much easier 

 matter. If the currant-tree be against a wall, nothing is 

 more easy than to cover it over with a mat nailed to the 

 wall -, and a standard tree is covered completely by a 

 couple of good new mats, well joined together and 

 closely drawn round at the bottom, and fastened round 

 the stem of the tree. Trees, however, subjected to this 

 discipline do not bear so well the next year. The sorts of 

 gooseberries are very numerous. The following is the 

 list cultivated in the King's gardens : Claret, Early Lin- 

 coln, Golden drop, Goliah, Green- gage, Imperial, Keens 

 seedling, Lomax's victory, Old Briton, Pope, Rumbullion, 

 Warrington. The Keens seedling, raised by MR. KEEN 

 at Islington, is valued very much on account of its thorns, 

 which are so numerous and so sharp and so well placed 

 as to keep the small birds from the buds and the young 

 fruit. For many years it has been the fashion to give 

 the preference to gooseberries of a large size, and the 

 people of Lancashire (chiefly the weavers) have been 

 famous for their success in this way ; but, as quality is 

 far preferable to size, I regret the almost total dis- 

 appearance of the little smooth black gooseberry, and of 

 the little hairy red gooseberry, both of which have very 

 thin skins, and are of flavour delicious. The big goose- 

 berries are nearly all skin, and the pulp is of a very mean 

 flavour. For several years I have not seen a black goose- 

 berry tree in any garden except that of some old farm 

 house ; but I would earnestly recommend to the reader 

 to obtain these two sorts if he can. 



271. GRAPE, See VINE. 



