65 



Roe's Seedling. 



(Named for T. Hazard Roe, upon whose place it originated.) 



This is by far the largest and finest gooseberry that I have 

 ever seen, and if it continues free from mildew and flourishes else- 

 where as in its originril home, it cannot fail to supercede all others. 



Last year, on account of the severe and early drouth, they 

 were not up to their usual size, but during their fruiting season 

 I cut a. number of branches laden with berries and took them to 

 New York. Prominent commission men to whom I showed them 

 said that they would bring almost double the price of any in mar- 

 ket. I next took them to Prof. Thurber, editor of the American 

 Agriculturist. 



I saw at once that he was impressed. After examining them 

 he remarked v/ith some emphasis : 



" That's considerable of a gooseberry, young man." 



He at once sent for his engraver and directed that the draw- 

 ing should be made which appeared in November number of the 

 American Agriculturist and is reproduced on the cover of this 

 manual. He also requested me to furnish a history of the 

 variety as far as I could learn it. As a result the following state- 

 ment, prepared by Dr. Thurber, accompanied the engraving in 

 the Agriculturist : 



" Sometime last summer the Rev. E. P. Roe, of Cornwall-on- 

 the-Hudson, brought us a specimen of a gooseberry, in which 

 bush and fruit appeared to be perfectly healthy, and the fruit was 

 much larger than any of our native sorts, abundant, and of a fine 

 green color. Upon learning it was a new seedling, we had an 

 engraving made of it, and requested Mr. Roe to give us its his- 

 tory, which he has done substantially as follows : 'In 1826 Mr. 

 William Roe purchased quite a large plot of ground in what was 

 then the outskirts of the village of Newburgh, and stocked his 

 place with the best fruits that he could then procure. That 

 which was tiien a home in the country, is now a country-like 

 home in the centre of a large city. Mr. T. Hazard Roe is the 



