GOOSEBERRIES
I have treated the currant very fully, not only because it is the more
popular fruit in this country, but also because the greater part of my
suggestions under that heading applies equally to this branch of the
_Ribes_ tribe. Possessing the same general characteristics, it should
be treated on the same principles that were seen to be applicable to
the currant. It flourishes best in the same cool exposures, and is the
better for partial shade. Even in the south of England the more
tender-skinned varieties often scald in the sun. However, I would
recommend the shade of a fence or a northern hillside, rather than
overhanging branches of trees. A rich soil, especially one that is deep
and moist but not wet, is equally requisite, and the rigorous annual
pruning is even more essential. As the wood becomes old and black, it
should be cut out altogether. Fruit buds and spurs are produced on wood
two or more years old, and cutting back causes these, but they must not
be allowed to become too crowded. To no fruit are air and light more
essential.
We have in this country two very distinct classes of gooseberries-the
first of foreign origin, and the second consisting of our native
species. Gray thus describes _Ribes Grossularia_, garden or English
gooseberry: "Cultivated from Europe for the well-known fruit; thorny
and prickly, with small, obtuse, three to five lobed leaves, green
flowers, one to three on short pedicels, bell-shaped calyx, and large
berry."
This native of northern Europe and the forests of the British Islands
has been developed into the superb varieties which have been famous so
long in England, but which we are able to grow with very partial
success. It remembers its birthplace even more strongly than the
currant, and the almost invariable mildew of our gardens is the sign of
its homesickness. The cool, moist climate of England just suits it, and
it is the pride of the gardens of Lancashire to surpass the world in
the development of large specimens. Mr. Downing writes:
"We are indebted to the Lancashire weavers, who seem to have taken it
up as a hobby, for nearly all the surprisingly large sorts of modern
date. Their annual shows exhibit this fruit in its greatest perfection,
and a gooseberry book is published in Manchester every year, giving a
list of all the prize sorts, etc."
The extraordinary pains taken is suggested by the following quotation
from the "Encyclopaedia of Gardening":
"To effect this increased size, every stimulant is applied that their
ingenuity can suggest. They not only annually manure the soil richly,
but also surround the plants with trenches of manure for the
extremities of the roots to strike into, and form round the stem of
each plant a basin, to be mulched, or manured, or watered, as may
become necessary. When a root has extended too far from the stem, it is
uncovered, and all the strongest leaders are shortened back nearly
one-half of their length, and covered with fresh, marly loam, well
manured. The effect of this pruning is to increase the number of fibres
and spongioles, which form rapidly on the shortened roots, and strike
out in all directions among the fresh, newly stirred loam, in search of
nutriment."
This is carrying culture to an extreme rarely, if ever, seen in
America. The annual referred to above recorded one hundred and
fifty-five gooseberry exhibitions in 1863.
The number of varieties is almost endless, and more than seven hundred
prize sorts are named in Lindley's "Guide to the Orchard"; but not one
of them, I fear, can be grown in this country, except under favorable
conditions and with extra care. Even after supplying such conditions,
they will often mildew in spite of our best efforts. Again, in some
localities, and for obscure causes, they will thrive and continue for
years quite free from this chief enemy of the foreign gooseberry.
Repeated applications of the flowers of sulphur over the bushes, from
the time the fruit sets until it is ripe, are probably the best
preventive. Thorough mulching, rigorous pruning, and high culture are
also to be recommended. Those who garden for pleasure would do well to
try some of these fine foreigners.
The following are some that Mr. Downing and others have recommended:
I. Red Varieties: British Crown, Top Sawyer, Roaring Lion, Lancashire
Lad, Crown Bob.
II. White: Cheshire Lass, White Lion, Whitesmith, White Honey.
III. Green: Laurel, Heart of Oak, Jolly Angler, Jolly Tar.
IV. Yellow: Golden Fleece, Bunker Hill, Conqueror, etc.
If but two or three foreign berries are to be chosen, I would recommend
Crown Bob, Bearing Lion, and Whitesmith.
I am sorry to say that seedlings of these foreign varieties have the
same tendency to mildew shown by their parents. The Late Emerald was
originated in the old garden at Newburgh, and is a sad example of this
fact. For many years it thrived in its birthplace without a trace of
mildew, but on my own place it has behaved so badly that I do not
recommend it. Were it not for this fault, I should grow no other
variety.
In view of this inveterate evil, mildew, which is so seldom escaped and
so difficult to overcome, we must turn to the second great class, our
native species, since they are adapted to our climate. Of these there
are several species, of which the following are the most prominent:
_Ribes speciosum_, showy, flowering gooseberry of California,
cultivated for ornament, especially in England, and likely to succeed
in the southern Middle States. It is trained like a climber; has small,
shining leaves, very handsome flowers resembling those of a fuchsia,
berry prickly, and few-seeded.
_R. rotundifolium_, more common in the West, is often downy-leaved;
peduncles slender; the slender stamens and two-parted style longer than
the narrow calyx; berry smooth.
_R. cynosbati_ is found in the rocky woods of the North, is
downy-leaved, with slender peduncle, stamens and undivided style not
exceeding the broad calyx; large berry, usually prickly.
_R. lacustre_, Lake or Swamp Gooseberry, with the prickly stems of the
gooseberry, but with a raceme of flowers like those of a currant; found
in the cold bogs and wet woods of the North; small, bristly berries, of
unpleasant flavor.
Last, but by no means the least, is the _Ribes hirtellum_, "commonest
in our Eastern States, seldom downy, with very short thorns or none,
very short peduncles, stamens and two-cleft style scarcely longer than
the bell-shaped calyx; and the smooth berry is purple, small and
sweet." (Gray.) This is the parent of the most widely known of our
native varieties, the Houghton Seedling, named from its originator,
Abel Houghton, of Lynn, Massachusetts. The bush is a vigorous grower,
that will thrive, with decent culture, on any moderately good soil, and
is very rarely injured by mildew. At the same time it improves greatly
under high culture and pruning. The bush has a slender and even weeping
habit of growth, and can be propagated readily by cuttings. From the
Houghton have been grown two seedlings that now are justly the most
popular.
The first and best of these is the Downing, originated by Mr. Charles
Downing of Newburgh. It is an "upright, vigorous-growing plant, very
productive. Fruit somewhat larger than the Houghton, roundish-oval,
whitish-green, with the rib veins distinct. Skin smooth. Flesh rather
soft, juicy." I consider this the best and most profitable variety that
can be generally grown in this country. In flavor, it is excellent. I
have had good success with this whenever I have given it fair culture.
It does not propagate readily from cuttings, and therefore I increase
it usually by layering.
The second seedling is Smith's Improved, a comparatively new variety
that is winning favor. It more closely resembles the Houghton in its
habit of growth than the Downing, and yet is more vigorous and upright
than its parent. The fruit is considerably larger than the Houghton,
oval, light green, with a bloom, moderately firm, sweet and good.
Mountain Seedling, originating with the Shakers at Lebanon, New York,
is the largest of the American varieties, but for some reason it does
not gain in popularity.
Cluster, or American Red, is a variety of unknown origin. The ancestral
bush may have been found in the woods. The fruit is scarcely as large
as that of the Houghton, is darker in color when fully ripe, hangs long
on the bush, and is sweet and good. Mr. P. Barry says that it never
mildews. Therefore, it should be made one of the parents of new
varieties, for in this direction lies the future of this fruit in
America.
In support of this opinion, I am led to quote the following letter,
recently received:
"I write to call your attention to a native variety of gooseberry, of
which you make no mention in your 'Scribner Papers,' growing in great
abundance in the Sierra Nevada, at an elevation of from 2,000 to 3,000
feet, often in the most exposed places, generally on northern slopes.
Thinking it may not have come to your knowledge, I will describe it.
The bush is of stiff, erect habit, two to three feet high, a stocky
grower and an abundant bearer. The berries vary from one-half to one
and one-quarter inches in diameter, are covered with innumerable
thorns, scarcely less savage in the green state than those on an
ordinary wild bush of this country. When cooked, the prickles soften
down to the same consistence as the skin, which is rather thick. When
ripe, they are easily peeled, and well repay the trouble, the spines
being then much less obdurate than when green. The mature fruit is of a
deep, dull, coppery red color, and in flavor is equal, if not superior,
to any of the _red_ varieties which I have eaten in England. I have
often wondered whether cultivation might not remove the spines from the
berries, or, that failing, whether a seedling could not be raised from
them which would give us a berry far more reliable than any good
gooseberry we now have. The scorching sun of the long, dry season of
California seemed to have no effect on the foliage, and is five years'
experience I never found a mildewed berry.
"The berry is _round_, like the red English berries, instead of
ellipsoid, like their white or golden ones.
"There is also another variety, hairy instead of spiny, about the size
of your picture of the Downing; bush not so free a grower, rarely
reaching two feet, and the berry, to my taste, much inferior. Tastes,
however, differ, and it may be the more promising fruit.
"Both varieties are common throughout the eastern end of El Dorado,
Placer, and Nevada counties."
The first-named, or thorny gooseberry, probably belongs to the _Ribes
cynosbati_, and the latter to the _R. rotundifolium_. The writer is
correct in thinking that, if such gooseberries are growing wild,
cultivation and selection could secure vast improvements. When we
remember that English gardeners started with a native species inferior
to ours, we are led to believe that effort and skill like theirs will
here be rewarded by kinds as superb, and as perfectly adapted to our
climate.