508 
IMPROVEMENT 03? SMALL FRUITS. 
often considered desirable to keep for some 
time — some months indeed — on the trees. It 
would be worth attempting to obtain varieties 
which would hang better than our present 
varieties do. On the subject of improving the 
present varieties of currants, some judicious 
remarks by Mr. Tomlinson, in the Midland 
Florist, directly bear : — 
" I have for years been an extensive culti 
vator of currants, selling the produce in the 
large town in my immediate neighbourhood, 
and I find, that though the red grape is a large 
and fleshy fruit, still it ripens unkindly, which 
is a great drawback to its more extended cul- 
tivation. The old long-bunched red is, with 
me, far preferable ; but I see no earthly reason 
why this fruit might not be improved in a 
very great degree. Would it not be possible 
to raise a ' currant show,' on the principle of 
the Lancashire gooseberry shows ? and if this 
could be carried out, and an inducement given 
to raise fresh varieties from seed, I make no 
doubt that we should speedily have currants 
double the present size, and much longer in 
the bunch ; and I am sure that nothing would 
pay better than improved varieties of both 
black and white, as well as red ones. The 
plant comes early into bearing, and any im- 
provement on the old sorts would speedily 
supersede them, as the black Naples is now 
displacing the black grape. I heard of several 
new sorts, which I purchased last autumn, and 
am now growing them, to test their respective 
qualities. Of course I cannot, the first season, 
decide, as I should wish to have my plants well 
established. The sorts purchased are : — 
" 1. The Gondouin Red. — A continental 
variety, with peculiarly red wood and large 
foliage, very distinct in habit. 
" 2. The Cherry Med. — Also from the con- 
tinent. This has extremely large foliage, and 
stout shoots. 
" 3. May's Victoria. — This, I see, has been 
mentioned in several publications as a large 
and very prolific variety, and would, doubtless, 
be a fine sort to save seed from. 
"4. Haughton Castle (Red). — This was 
raised in the far north of England. Its cha- 
racter to me was large and late. It appears 
to be an erect grower, and has abundance of 
fruit, which is of good flavour, though, from 
the circumstance of the trees being planted 
only last autumn, not so large as when they 
become established. 
" 5. Goliath. — I have also received with 
this a first-rate character as a good red cur- 
rant ; and if any induction is to be made from 
its luxuriant mode of growth, I should fancy 
it would respond to its name. 
' ; I have selected some of the largest berries 
on both Goliath and May's Victoria, the seeds 
of which I intend to sow ; and should these 
prove large, I will again sow from the largest. 
By this means, in a series of years, I hope to 
arrive at the height of my ambition, namely, 
to produce currants as large as small marbles. 
Now I am confident there is nothing Utopian 
in all this ; and I am certain that if a few 
persevering individuals were to devote their 
attention to the improvement of the currant, 
it would be attained in less than ten years." 
In these and many other ways might even 
the best of our present varieties be improved ; 
and we know of nothing which might be 
attempted with less effort and a greater pros- 
pect of success. If gardeners would turn 
their attention to the matter, we should soon 
have to witness the results. Many persons 
are deterred from experiments of this kind, 
under the impression that it is a work of 
magnitude. This is to a great extent erro- 
neous. The idea has indeed gone forth, and 
seems to be widely dispersed, that the per- 
centage of improvement among seedling plants 
is infinitesimally small, and that a very large 
number must be grown to offer even a remote 
chance of success ; but this idea, doubtless, 
owes its origin to the too common practice of 
saving seeds promiscuously, without regard to 
impregnation. From such a progeny little 
indeed may be expected : it is a waste of time 
and labour to act thus, with the view of 
originating improved varieties of any kind of 
plant ; and one carefully fertilized seed is 
worth a hundred so obtained. If, however, 
the thing be attempted on principle it becomes 
an easy task, and not only is the labour light- 
ened, but the chances of a satisfactory result 
are at the same time greatly increased. Sup- 
pose one hundred gardeners were each to fer- 
tilize one strawberry blossom, according to 
their own ideas of what blending of varieties 
would constitute an improvement ; the trouble 
of doing so would be so trifling as not to be 
worthy of mention, while it is probable that 
even the first results would be important. But 
in these matters we must not be satisfied with 
first results ; a second or third cross of the 
hybrid with the male parent (if the latter 
were well chosen) would most likely — as it has 
done before — result in considerable farther 
improvement. 
The practice under consideration may, how- 
ever, be perverted. The perversion we refer 
to, is that of naming and distributing seedling 
fruits that in reality do not possess any pro- 
perty superior to those of older and well 
known kinds. This must always be depre- 
cated. If those who raise seedling fruits, do 
not really know their worth, they should sub- 
mit them to some competent judge. The 
probability of varieties, perhaps good in them- 
selves, but not better than older and well 
known kinds, being passed off as possessing 
