STRAWBERRIES FOR FORCING. 



847 



put into the water occasionally. It may be discontinued when 

 the fruit commences to colour. A dry, airy atmosphere should be 

 maintained to finish them. 



If the details are carried out as advised, the result will be 

 firm, well-finished forced Strawberries. 



THE GOOSEBERRY. 



By Mr. D. Thomson. 



The Gooseberry is undoubtedly the most generally cultivated of 

 all our hardy fruits. In the humblest gardens of our poorest 

 peasantry, in the most remote and outlandish districts, a few 

 Gooseberry bushes are found where no other fruit is attempted 

 or cared for. Being indigenous in Britain, as well as in other 

 parts of Europe, it thrives and ripens in latitudes and at eleva- 

 tions where none other of our hardy fruits come to maturity. 

 It succeeds in a latitude 16° north of London, but not in a 

 latitude so far south of it. Hence much finer Gooseberries are 

 grown in the cooler climate of Scotland, and in England north 

 of York, than in the hotter and drier parts of the South of 

 England. And owing to the cooler and moister climate of the 

 north, the season of ripe Gooseberries is much longer than it is 

 possible to make it in the south. This fact alone indicates the 

 desirableness of choosing as cool a situation as possible for the 

 culture of this fruit in the southern half of Britain. The use- 

 fulness and the refreshing deliciousness of the well-matured 

 Gooseberry, render it a most popular fruit among all classes, 

 from the humblest cottar to the peer ; and in a green state it is 

 most important to our toiling thousands in towns, supplying 

 as it does a most wholesome and relishable ingredient for 

 tarts at a season when no other fruits are largely available for 

 the purpose. For this reason, if for no other, the Gooseberry 

 has long been the most popular of fruits in the densely 

 populated Midlands, the working classes of which parts have 

 long been famous for their interest in and devotion to the 

 culture and production of new varieties, especially large show 

 sorts — a result that has been amply attained, but, as in the case 

 of other fruits, it is to be feared at the expense of quality in 



