It must be admitted, that although the large gooseber ries make a fine appearance on the table, they are often de ficient in flavour, when compared with some of smaller size. Many of them have very thick strong skins, and are not eatable unless thoroughly ripened. Some of the large sort, however, are of very good quality, such as the red champagne and the green walnut. Among these, also, Wilmot's early red deserves further notice. It was raised by Mr Wilmot at Islesworth in 1804, and has been cultivat ed by him very extensively on account of its valuable pro perties, being early ripe, of excellent flavour, and ex tremely productive. It usually ripens from the middle to the end of June. For culinary use in the month of May it is larger and better than most others, the skin not being tough, but the whole berry melting to a fine consistence. The gooseberry, it may scarcely be necessary to notice, is used not only for tarts, pies, and sauces, or gooseberry creams, before being ripe ; but, when at maturity, it forms a rich addition to the dessert for several months.
Gathered unripe, gooseberries can be preserved in bot tles against winter : the bottles are filled with berries, close corked, and well sealed ; they are then placed in a cool cellar till wanted. By plunging the bottles after being corked into boiling water for a few minutes, (heating them gradually to prevent cracking,) the berries are said to keep better.
160. Gooseberry-bushes, like currants, are propagated chiefly by cuttings, preferring for this purpose clean and strong shoots of the former year, about a foot in length. They may be planted any time early in the spring. They are trained for two or three years, and should have a stem six or eight inches high. Strong suckers of straight growth are sometimes used, but they are considered as apt to produce suckers again.
In many places little attention is paid either to the soil in which the gooseberry-tree is planted, or to its pruning and management ; yet the fruit is greatly improved by at tention to these circumstances. The best practical gar deners now prune the bushes so as to form them somewhat like a hollow sphere ; no main stem is encouraged, as was formerly done ; but the centre is cut out, and eight or ten side branches preserved, according to the size of the plant. All water-shoots of the former season are removed ; but any young shoots wanted for branches are left at full length. In this mode of pruning or training, the stem may be short, perhaps half a foot, instead of a whole foot. The bushes may also be planted nearer to each other than such as are allowed to rise many feet in height. They should not, however, be less than five or six feet asunder in every direction, the free admission of light and air being quite necessary. If the bushes be attended to in the month of June, and all central water-shoots and suckers be dis placed, the additional light and air thus admitted, will be found very beneficial to the fruit, while the labour of win ter pruning will be at the same time diminished. In many gardens gooseberry-bushes are still placed in single rows along the sides of borders; but this is not so good a plan as having a separate quarter for them. They may be planted in November, or any time before February ; and the plantation should be renewed every seven or eight years.
161. The plan above described for prolonging the sea son of currants, by matting up the bushes when the fruit is ripe, it is still more important to adopt in regard to gooseberries, as this fruit forms a more desirable ingredient of the dessert. If some of the late yellow sorts be mat ted in September, they remain good till November. A few plants of the finer kinds are sometimes trained against a south or east wall ; here the fruit not only comes earlier, but attains greater size than usual. They also do very well on a low espalier-rail. In some places, gooseberry•trees on the sides of the borders are trained to a single tall stem, which is tied to a stake : this, though six or eight feet high, occasions scarcely any shade on the border, and it does not occupy much room, nor -exclude air ; while at the same time the stem becomes closely hung with berries, and makes a pleasant appearance in that state. Some sorts of gooseberry-bushes, and those producing the largest fruit, have a natural tendency to bend their branches down In this case the branches must be supported with small forked sticks, in order to admit air, and to save the fruit from touching the ground.
It may be observed of the currant and goosebery trees in general, that they are very easily raised from the seeds, these often, however, lying a year in the ground before vegetating. The seedling plants generally shew fruit in the third year of their growth, when an estimate of their merits can be formed : it is to be observed, however, that the fruit both of currant and gooseberry seedlings may im prove in the fourth and fifth year.
Raspberry.
162. The Raspberry-bush is the Rubus ideeus of Lin Itxus (Icosandria Polygynia ; Rosacece of Jussieu) and the Framboisier of the French. It is indigenous to. several parts of Britain, and is figured in English Botany, t. 2442. The styles being persistent, the fruit has a bristly appear ance, from which the name raspis, or rasp, has been given. The fruit is very desirable both for the dessert, and for making jam, tarts, and sauces. Eaten fresh with cream and sugar, it makes an excellent supper-dish, and may be had from July to November. It also forms the chief com pound in a liqueur called Raspberry Cordial, for which purpose great quantities of the fruit are reared near London 163. The varieties chiefly cultivated are the following : Common red and common white ; large red Antwerp ; large yellowish-white Antwerp ; cane or smooth-stalk ed, also called reed raspberry ; twice bearing white, and twice-bearing red. Some still prefer the common kinds of red and white, thinking that an increase of size in the larger varieties has been purchased at the expence of flavour ; but the new varieties are, upon the whole, to be accounted preferable. The second crop of the twice-bearing kind is in general deficient both in flavour and size ; but by means of it the raspberry season is prolonged till the beginning of November. It is to be particularly noticed, however, that the fruit should be regularly gathered as it ripens, and should be almost immediately used after being gathered : it will remain good on the bush for a few days after being ripe, but a dish of raspberries, kept in the house for two days, will generally be found to have lost flavour, and pos sibly to be tainted by maggots.