JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 28, 1881. ] 
G inches in height, and remarkably free. I think these will 
all prove worth growing. I intend to propagate them by division 
in autumn.—R. P. Brothekston. 
CULTIVATION OF THE GOOSEBERRY IN THE NORTH 
OF ENGLAND. 
The Gooseberry is generally supposed to be indigenous to the 
island of Great Britain ; but whether this be so or not, there is 
certainly no country in which it arrives at a greater degree of 
perfection than in the British Islands. It is always found to 
flourish best in temperate climates, and where the climate inclines 
to be cold rather than warm. It is not found, for instance, in Africa, 
in the South Sea Islands, or between the tropics of either hemi¬ 
sphere, but is found in the temperate parts of Europe, America, 
and Asia. In the southern and central parts of Africa the plant 
is perfectly unknown, except in some situations where, among the 
high mountains, the temperature is low enough to suit its require¬ 
ments. Persons who have resided a long time in India, and who 
during that time had never seen a Gooseberry or Currant, speak 
with delight of the European character which these plants give 
to the scenery of the mountains in the north of that country. 
It is not exactly known when the Gooseberry became an object 
of cultivation in this country, but it had become a garden fruit 
in the reign of Henry VIII.; for the old writer Tusser, who lived 
in that reign, says, in his “Five Hundred Pointes of Good Hus- 
bandrie”— 
“ The Barberry Respes, and Gooseberry too, 
Look now to be planted as other things do.” 
Soon after this period descriptions were given of about a dozen 
varieties—and among the rest one called the Blue , a colour not 
now found among the hundreds of varieties in cultivation. The 
fruit was apparently very small when the plant was first brought 
under cultivation, resembling the small tasteless fruit which is 
still found in the south of Europe ; and in point of size, at least, 
it does not appear to have improved much for more than a cen¬ 
tury after Tusser’s time, as may be inferred from the surprise 
expressed by Pepys at seeing Gooseberries as big as nutmegs. At 
every subsequent period (says an interesting and useful little tract 
called “ The History and Cultivation of the Gooseberry,” printed 
at Sheffield, and from which much of the information in this 
article is taken) the Gooseberry has claimed a share of attention 
from horticulturists. It has found a place alike in the garden of 
the nobleman and of the cottager, and has amply rewarded by its 
abundant and profitable produce the skill of the gardener, and 
by its increased size the care of the amateur grower. Indeed, 
the success which has attended its culture under the spare house 
of the artisan seems to entitle it to the distinctive appellation of 
the poor man's fruit. 
It has been ascertained that under favourable circumstances 
the Gooseberry will attain to a considerable age and grow to a 
great size. Bushes have been grown to measure from 12 to 
18 yards in circumference after being planted about fifty years. 
The garden of Sir Joseph Banks at Overton Hall, near Chester¬ 
field, contained at one time two remarkable Gooseberry plants. 
They were trained against a wall, and the branches of each 
measured upwards of 50 feet. In this country the plant shows 
a marked preference to cool situations. The fruit in the southern 
parts of England is not nearly so good as it is in the north, and 
in general the flavour of the Scotch Gooseberry is much superior 
to those produced in any part of England ; while in Scotland 
itself, the Gooseberries grown about Dundee, Aberdeen, and 
Inverness exceed in flavour those grown in the southern counties. 
As far as regards mere size and appearance, however, the 
Gooseberries of Lancashire are unequalled by any in the world. 
Growers there have devoted so much attention to them as to 
have attained to almost absolute perfection in the matter of 
their cultivation. In the counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, Staf¬ 
fordshire, and Warwickshire, the striking improvement which 
has taken place in the cultivation of the Gooseberry is to be 
attributed less to the professional gardeners or market gardeners 
than to the mechanics who very generally spend their leisure 
time in the pleasing occupation of gardening, and particularly 
in the culture of the Gooseberry ; and it is to their industry 
and perseverance that we owe the production of most of our 
largest and best varieties. The custom of gardening has a ten¬ 
dency to improve both the health and the morals of the people. 
Any pursuit which makes men acquainted with the peculiarities 
of vegetable economy, in however small a degree, has a bene¬ 
ficial effect upon the heart and understanding ; and it is cer¬ 
tainly better for working men to vie with each other in raising 
large Gooseberries than in those games of chance and in cruel 
sports to which the leisure hours of the working classes have 
been too often devoted. The one is a rational and innocent 
emulation, the other a degenerating excitement or a brutal in¬ 
dulgence. 
Ihe origin of the different kinds of Lancashire Gooseberries 
is often indicated by their names, which are generally fanciful, 
often local and personal, sometimes even absurd, but frequently 
characteristic of the manners of the county in which they are 
produced. Galloper, Green Corduroy, Tom Joiner, Lancashire 
Witches, Dan's Mistake, Roaring Lion, Richmond Lads, Cheshire 
Lasses, Jolly Miner, Porcupine, Jolly Painter, Top Sawyer, Crown 
Bob, &c., are sufficient specimens. It is not to be expected that 
so much attention should, however, be given to the cultiva¬ 
tion of the Gooseberry in the counties named without the 
operation of some external stimulus; therefore Gooseberry shows 
have long been established in different parts of Yorkshire, 
Lancashire, and Cheshire. The time and conditions of these 
meetings are determined by certain rules, and the minor details 
of each show are generally settled in the spring, from which 
time until the day of the exhibition each competitor entered in 
the list subscribes a small weekly sum towards the purchasing 
of prizes. The prizes are sometimes given in money, but often 
in kind. The exhibition of the fruit and adjudication of prizes 
generally take place in July or August, and the weight of the 
different sorts is published in the report of the shows given in the 
newspapers of the town where the show has been held, while the 
result of the shows in various parts of the kingdom have for a 
long time been printed in Manchester, and circulated chiefly 
among the growers, in what is called “The Gooseberry Book.” 
We may now state a few particulars to illustrate the progress 
which has been made in the cultivation of the Gooseberry. About 
a century ago it was considered an extraordinary thing when a 
Gooseberry was grown which weighed down the old spade-ace 
guinea which was then in circulation. Berries were soon after 
produced that weighed twice as much ; and now, little would be 
thought of show fruit which would not weigh five or six times as 
much. The largest Gooseberry on record was a handsome yellow 
fruit called Teazer, which was shown at Stockport in July, 1830, 
and weighed 32 dwts. 13 grs. The heaviest red berry on record 
was the Roaring Lion, exhibited at Nantwich in 1825, and weighed 
31 dwts. 16 grs. The heaviest white was a fruit of The Ostrich, 
21 dwts. 20 grs., shown at Ormskirk in 1832, in which year the 
largest red was only 27 dwts. 13 grs. In the same season a seed¬ 
ling green was exhibited at Nantwich of the weight of 30 dwts. 
18 grs. To this statement of the weight to which the fruit has 
sometimes been grown, it may be of interest to add that a seed¬ 
ling plant of reputation has been known to produce when sold 
upwards of £32. This is a rare case ; but it is not at all unusual 
for twenty guineas to be brought in by the distribution of a 
single bush.—J. G. W. (in The Gardener). 
ORCHIDS IN FLOWER AT IvEW. 
The Orchid house at Kew is now looking very gay, and several 
plants that are now in flower are of special interest. Amongst 
them during a recent visit we especially noted a grand display of 
Aerides odoratum ; their long drooping racemes of pure white 
flowers which are marked with light lilac are very showy, and 
the beautiful perfume they exale entitles it to a place in every 
collection. This species is grown in quantity at Kew, for there 
were several large specimens in flower. Aerides japonicum is a 
pretty dwarf species, and flowering freely in the cooler house ; 
the flowers are pure white blotched and barred with lilac, and 
scented similar to A. odoratum. This is a very desirable species 
to grow, and for the greater part of the year it seems well satisfied 
with the temperature of the Odontoglossum house. Burlingtonia 
fragrans is a little gem ; the white and yellow flowers are thickly 
set on a drooping raceme, and are always appreciated whenever 
in flower. Cattleya superba is not often met with in flower; it 
certainly is worth seeing, as it is undoubtedly one of the best of 
the genus to which it belongs. It is considered by many to be a 
difficult plant to manage, but at Kew it seems quite at home 
growing on a piece of Fern stem suspended from the roof in the 
warm compartment. The flowers are very showy, the sepals and 
petals spreading, of a bright purple colour. The lip has a peculiar 
curve forming quite a hook, colour deep purple ; the throat or 
base of the lip is white with a broad stripe of canary yellow. 
Catasetum tabulare is a peculiar flower ; the colour of the flower 
is not the brightest, but the peculiar tongue-shaped lip gives the 
flowers a quaint appearance. Dendrobium Calceolaria is in good 
condition ; one plant had a dozen long drooping spikes, the sepals 
and petals are pinkish yellow in colour, the pocket-shaped label- 
lum with its interior blotch of dark brown makes it extremely 
handsome. Dendrobium Tattonianum, an Australian species, is 
