186 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ August, 
Brittany, under the name of Peche Deniaux; and first fruited in 1865.”—- 
T. Moore. 
GOOSEBERRIES AND CURRANTS AT CHRISTMAS. 
HERE seems to be in our very natures a longing after fruit. Eve had it, 
~J) when she set her heart upon that which was forbidden. The child 
'Ago with the layer of jam on his bread, and the tart of some pretensions in 
"ei pastry, with a crown of leaves on its head, and having its edges milled 
like the gold and silver coin of the realm, both attest the usefulness of fresh fruit, 
which is so much superior to diied currants and raisins. In order to lengthen 
out the season of fresh fruit for rich families costly structures of glass are erected, 
some to force, and some to retard. Hence we see fresh grapes hanging on the 
Vine at Christmas, and even later, retarded by the skill of the cultivator; and on 
the other hand, we see ripe Grapes in April forced, so as to keep up a supply of 
this delicious dessert fruit for nearly or quite every month in the year. 
Passing over the culture of exotic fruits, let us consider what can be done 
with hardy fruit-bearing shrubs, and chiefly with Currant and Gooseberry bushes, 
so as to retard the fruit beyond its natural season ; for many gardeners, by means 
of very simple appliances, have gathered a dish of Gooseberries fresh from the 
bushes at Christmas. It is, moreover, a safe way for beginners to try their skill 
in keeping fruit, by experimenting on cheap kinds, which are hardy and sure 
croppers. I have constantly had some Gooseberry bushes covered with a kind of 
pent-house, made of two plain wooden shutters set up like the letter A, and 
lighted at the sides with cheese-cloth. This wooden roof kept off the rain from 
the fruit and the foliage, and from the roots as well; for it must be remembered 
that if the soil gets wet the water will get into the system and spoil the flavour 
of the fruit. There is no plant more sensitive of wet at the root than the Goose¬ 
berry, for even in summer-time the berries will sour and burst in wet weather. 
A cool, dry atmosphere is therefore an essential element in preserving fresh fruit. 
In Lancashire the Gooseberry is treated somewhat differently from what it is in 
most places. The prize-grower astonishes his fraternity with the size of his berry, 
but says nothing about the very few berries which he allows the plant to carry; 
whereas in a family garden the bushes are usually of large size, and the fruit 
small, but plentiful. 
When orchard-houses became fashionable, small-sized fruit trees, peaches, 
plums, &c., were duly potted and grown under glass, but until this was done it 
would have been presumption to propose putting a gooseberry or currant bush 
into a flower-pot. It is very strange that so few professed gardeners grow prize 
Gooseberries. Mr. Barnes, of Bicton, grew young plants after the Lancashire 
fashion to get first-class fruit, and he gave battle to the caterpillar after his own 
fashion—a kind of persecution, for he followed the enemy into the earth, and 
would not let him live in the chrysalis state, or in any other, for his deep trench¬ 
ing and transplanting no doubt buried numbers never to rise again. Healthy young 
