HISTORY OF THE GOOSEBERRY 397 



localities. Most authors have thought that the name 

 gooseberry was derived from the fruit having been first 

 used as a sauce with "green goose." Others doubt this. 

 Geo. W. Johnson says:* "It is somewhat unfortunate 

 for this derivation that it has never been so used. It 

 seems to me more probable to be a corruption of the 

 Dutch name Kruisbes, or Gruisbes. Kruisbes, I be- 

 lieve, was derived from Kruis, the Cross, and Bes, as 

 Berry, because the fruit was ready for use just after 

 the Festival of the Invention of the Holy Cross; just 

 as Kruis-haring, in Dutch, is a herring caught after 

 the same festival. "t 



Loudon states t that the first marked improvement 

 in size was made by the Dutch. But its present re- 

 markable development has been brought about largely 

 by the efforts of the Lancashire weavers. The pro- 

 duction of new varieties, and the increase in size, has 

 been greatly stimulated by the annual shows or " goose- 

 berry prize meetings," at which liberal prizes are offered 

 for the largest fruits. The results of these are pub- 

 lished in the Gooseberry Annual, now forming an ex- 

 tensive set. At the beginning of the century the 

 largest fruits seldom exceeded 10 dwts. in weight, but 

 in recent years they frequently exceed 30 dwts. Size 

 is not the only quality sought; some sorts are prized 

 for their flavor, some for their beauty, and others for 

 their productiveness. There is also a wide diversity 

 in the season of ripening among different sorts. 



*1. c. 109. 



tAn excellent early account of the gooseberries, with colored plates, is Thory's 

 "Monographic on histoire naturelle du genre Groseillier," Paris, 1829. L. H. B. 

 t Arboretum et Fruiticetum, 2: 973. 



