eibe] 



Oj? Crea^itrg of 2Sotanj). 



982 



remains of the flower, and contain nume- 

 rous seeds suspended in pulp by long 

 threads. Upwards of sixty species are de- 

 scribed, two-thirds of which are found in 

 the temperate parts of the American con- 

 tinent, where they extend from the Straits 

 of Magellan to the Arctic Circle ; while the 

 rest are confined to the temperate re- 

 gions of Europe and Asia. They are all 

 shrubs, varying from one or two to five or 

 six feet high, sometimes spiny, and have 

 lobed alternate leaves, and either solitary 

 or axillary racemes of flowers. 



R. sanguineum,the Red-flowered Currant, 

 a native of North America, is the species 

 most frequently grown in our gardens for 

 ornamental purposes, and when covered 

 with a profusion of racemes of rich deep 

 rose-red flowers in early spring, it forms a 

 most beautiful object. It belongs to the 

 section of the genus without prickles, and 

 forms a bushy shrub sometimes as much 

 as eight feet in height, having flve-lobed 

 serrated leaves, heart-shaped at the base, 

 and downy underneath ; and racemes usu- 

 ally twice as long as the leaves, containing 

 numerous flowers, the conspicuous part of 

 which is the richly-coloured calyx, which 

 has a long bell-shaped tube, and blunt 

 spreading segments much larger than the 

 small paler-coloured petals. [A. S.] 



Those well-known and extensively culti- 

 vated fruits, the Gooseberry and Currant, 

 are included in this genus. The rough or 

 hairy Gooseberry has been called R. Gros- 

 sularia, and the smooth Gooseberry R. Uva 

 crispa ; but there is no difference between 

 them except as regards the surface of the 

 fruit, for seeds from one bush will pro- 

 duce both rough and smooth-fruited plants. 

 The Gooseberry is called in Cheshire and 

 in the North of England Feaberry (accord- 

 ing to Gerarde, a contraction of Feverberry, 

 the fruit being considered a sort of specific 

 against fevers) ; in Norfolk it is called 

 Feabes ; in Scotland Grozet or Grozerts ; 

 by the Gemians Krausel-beere, or StacheJ- 

 beere; by the Dutch Kruisbes, or Kruis- 

 bezie ; and by the Danes and Swedes Krus- 

 baar, which is nearly identical with the 

 Dutch name. The French call it Groseille, 

 formerly written Groiselle, or Groisseletz 

 according to Decandolle, and these names 

 bear much analogy to the old Scotch name 

 Grozet. The French use the fruit for 

 making a sauce for mackerel, and hence 

 call it Groseille a Maquereau ; and we find 

 it frequently stated in books that it is 

 called Gooseberry from being used as a 

 sauce for young or green geese. This, 

 however, must be an error; for when 

 Queen Elizabeth received the news of the 

 destruction of the Spanish Armada, on 

 September 29, she was eating goose, and 

 that day has since been noted as about 

 the time when young geese are in season; 

 but there are then no green gooseberries 

 to be had for sauce. 



The Gooseberry is indigenous in this 

 country, as well as in many other parts of 

 Europe, and it has been found, according 

 to Royle, in Nepal. Dr. Schiibeler states 

 that '"it is found wild here and there in 



Norway, in the lowlands, up to lat. 63°. 

 Finer varieties, when cultivated, will ripen 

 as far north as 66J° at least.' It there- 

 fore appears that it will succeed 16° north 

 of London, but it will not thrive so far to 

 the south. Even in southern parts of Eng- 

 land, under a hot sun, the fruit of some of 

 the varieties becomes as if parboiled. The 

 cooler climates of the North of England 

 and Scotland suit it best. It is an impor- 

 tant plant for millions of the manufac- 

 turing population; for it supplies abundant 

 fruit for tarts, pies, sauces, &c. at an early 

 period of the season, and before any other 

 can be had in quantity for these pur- 

 poses. By competition for prizes in Lan- 

 cashire and the adjoining counties, the size 

 of the berries has been enormously in- 

 creased, although some of the old sorts, 

 such as the Red Champagne, are yet un- 

 surpassed in quality. The varieties are 

 exceedingly numerous, and are divided 

 into sections according to their colour- 

 red yellow green and white; and again 

 from their surface being hairy downy or 

 smooth. 



Of the Red Currant, R. rubrum— which 

 has cordate bluntly three to flve-lobed 

 leaves, yellowish-green flowers, and bright- 

 red fruit in pendulous racemes,— there are 

 several varieties, the most distinct of 

 which are the pale-red, the flesh-coloured 

 or champagne, the striped, and the white ; 

 but the red and the white are the most ex- 

 tensively cultivated. The original form 

 of the species has undergone very great im- 

 provement. The Currant is indigenous to 

 Britain, Central and Northern Europe, 

 Siberia, and Canada. According to Dr. 

 Schiibeler (Synopsis of theVegetable Products 

 of Norway), it is generally to be found wild 

 as far north as Finmark, and even under 

 the seventieth parallel of latitude it pro- 

 duces annual shoots twenty inches in 

 length. It may therefore be said that it 

 possesses all the hardiness that need be 

 desired. But, like the gooseberry, it is not 

 suited for so warm a ciimate as the South 

 of Europe— otherwise it would have ex- 

 tended into Italy, and would have become 

 known to the Greeks and Romans, which 

 does not appear to have been the case. It 

 was only in the Middle Ages that its culti- 

 vation was introduced into the South of 

 Europe. It is called Ribs in Danish, Risp 

 and Reps in Swedish ; and the Latin name 

 of the genus, Ribes, is believed by Alph. De- 

 candolle to have had a northern origin. 

 The English name of Currant originated 

 from the similarity of the fruit to the Co- 

 rinth or Zante Grape, the currant of the 

 shops. Improved varieties of the Currant 

 appear to have been introduced from Hol- 

 land, and the Red Dutch and the White 

 Dutch are amongst the best in cultivation 

 at the present day. These fruits are al- 

 ways in demand for making wine, tarts, 

 jellies, jams, &c, and the quantities grown 

 for that purpose have greatly increased 

 since the price of sugar has become re- 

 duced. The refrigerant juice is also very 

 grateful to the parched palates of persons 

 suffering from fever. 



