GOOSEBERRY, various spiny shrubs of the genus Grossularia, family' Grossulariacem, mostly natives of the northern hemisphere, especially of North America; some species are valued for their fruit (berries), others for their flowers. Of the half dozen spe cies cultivated, the European gooseberry (G. grossularia), which appeared in gardens dur ing the 16th century, has developed the largest number of varieties and attracted the widest interest. Its progeny furnish prac tically all the varieties exhibited at the annual gooseberry shows of England. The fruits of some of these varieties weigh more than an ounce, having been developed by selection and crossing from an original of about one quarter of an ounce. The varieties may be di vided, like apples or pears, into culinary and dessert sorts. Of the American species, sev eral of which bear finer fruits than the natural European species, G. oxyacanthoides is the only one that has produced widely cultivated vari eties. It has also entered into many hybrids with the European species. These American varieties are all of the culinary class, or are used while too unripe to be palatable as dessert. The first one, Houghton, was introduced about 1835, and with its seedling, Browning, still commands the market.
The gooseberry is one of the easiest fruits to propagate. Cuttings of mature wood are most frequently used, but layers and suckers are also employed. The plants thrive best
upon rather heavy, moist soil, and generally fail upon light soils, especially if dry. They like partial shade and northern exposure. In the South they fail. The plants may be trans planted in spring or fall, about five feet apart each way, cultivated frequently until mid-sum mer, trained and pruned like the currant (q.v.), but somewhat more openly, kept free from fungous troubles by the use of a fungicide (q.v.) and of insects by the use of an insecti cide (q.v.). The fungi most frequently found upon the plants are mildew (Sphaorotheca
and leaf spot (Septoria ,'ibis). The former, which is a surface feeder, appears upon the green parts as a frost-like gray growth, which later becomes brown. Free circulation of air, good drainage and open training of the bushes help to prevent attacks. Leaf spot pro duces brown spots upon the foliage, which may fall prematurely. Spraying early in the season is believed to be the only preventive. With few exceptions, the insects that attack the goose berry also visit the currant (q.v.) and may be combated by the same remedies. Consult Card,