es of the shrub, if eaten raw in a salad;
drive forth the gravel. And from the red Gooseberry may be
prepared an excellent light jelly, which is beneficial for sedentary,
plethoric, and bilious subjects. This variety of the fruit, whether
hairy or smooth, is grown largely in Scotland, but in France it is
little cared for.

The yellow Gooseberry is richer and more vinous of taste, suiting
admirably, when of the smooth sort, for making Gooseberry wine;
which is choice, sparkling, and wholesome, such as that wherewith
Goldsmith's popular _Vicar of Wakefield_ used to regale Farmer
Flamborough and the blind piper, having "lost neither the recipe nor
the reputation." They were soothed in return by the touching ballads
of _Johnny Armstrong's Last Good Night_, and _Cruel Barbara
Allen_.

Gooseberry Shows are held annually in Lancashire, and excite keen
competition; but after exhibition, the successful berries are "topped
and tailed," so as to disqualify them from being shown elsewhere.
Southey, in _The Doctor_, speaks about an obituary notice in a
former Manchester newspaper, of a man who "bore a severe illness
with Christian fortitude, and was much esteemed among Gooseberry
growers." Prizes are given for the [226] biggest and heaviest berries,
which are produced with immense pains as to manuring, and the
growth of cool chickweed around the roots of the bushes. At the
same time each promising berry is kept submerged in a shallow
vessel of water placed beneath it so as to compel absorption of
moisture, and thus to enlarge its size. Whimsical names, such as
"Golden Lion," "The Jolly Angler," and "Crown Bob," etc., are
bestowed on the prize fruit. Cuttings from the parent plant of a prize
Gooseberry become in great request; and thus the pedigree scions of
a single bush have been known to yield as much as thirty-two
pounds sterling to their possessor. The _Gooseberry Book_ is a
regular Manchester annual.

A berry weighing as heavy as thirty-seven penny-weight has been
exhibited; and a story is told of a Middleton weaver, who, when a
thunder-storm was gathering, lay awake as if for his life, and at the
first patter of rain against the window panes, rushed to the rescue of
his Gooseberry bushes with his bed quilt. Green Gooseberries will
help to abate the strange longings which sometimes beset pregnant
women.

In Devon the rustics call Gooseberries "Deberries," and in Sussex
they are familiarly known to village lads as Goosego