VALUABLE NEW FRUIT

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LIV, Issue 9204, 9 June 1926, Page 2

VALUABLE NEW FRUIT

THE CHINESE GOOSEBERRY. BEAUTY AND UTILITY The Chinese gooseberry faetiuidia ehinonsis). which has been introduced into Auckland by the I’lant Brunch of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society, promises to l>e of great use ad value hi this part of New Zealand (says an exchange). .Mr H. R. Wright, of Avondale, wh<, has cultivated it, says;—Tln.s new fruit is a native of Szechwan, China, and although commonly railed Chinese gooseberry, is in no way related to the English gooseberry fojwhilr the latter is a prickly bush, the former is a strong growing deciduous t ine. The leaves ol this vino, which are nearly as large as those of a grapo vine, have a beautiful plush-like texture. ami an unusually dark-green colour. The large size ol the leaves, ;nnl their regular spacing, add to the beauty of the vine. The young growth of leaf and stem is very hairy, and covered with line hairs of a beautiful red colour. The Honors arc buff-yellow to white, fragrant, and about an uich broad, and are produced in great alum, dance.

The fruit is of a russet-brown, coy. ered with line hairs, uUuit tw« inches long, or roughly about the siz.e of our c minioii passion fruit. The fles his of a greenish colour, with a flavour resembling that of the English gooseberry. hence its name. For jams, jellies. and fruit salads, it is unsiirpabs. ed. 'The seeds are much smaller than those of the English gooseberry, and

arc situated in a circle mulling I’rum top to bottom of the fruit, at a point midway between the

skin ami centre. The truit should ho gathered in earlx winter and stored, for, once the haves are cut with the frost, there is no need to leave the fruit ~n any holder. The fruit will keep for several weeks alter picking. This pi a lit is dioetious. i e., the lemale flowers are on separate plants lienee it is absolutely necessary that they should he planted in pairs, one to pollinate the other, to make the fruit set. Special attention should lie drawn to the a hove tact, for people may put in only one plant, which of course could not produce fruit. When planted in quantity, one male would servo to pollinate several females, if it is planted in the centre of them. In this new plant, we have Iceauty and utility combined. For covering arbors, jrergolas. or for training on porches, it will he found unsurpassed tor beauty, while its fruit will prove a miteh-nceded addition to our short supply of salad fruits for early winter use. The habit of growth is to twine the same as the hop plant, ami it will grow into quite a large vine in time. Grafted plants are preferable to seedings, in that the grafts are taken from known sexes. The plants come into bearing at a much earlier age. whereas, with seedling' plants ,they take too long to come into bearing and, as the sexes are not known until they flower, it will not l>e known until then, whether they will or will not. bear fruit. We were .shown on Saturday by Mr C. Lasenhy, several samples of the Chinese goosel>erry. They are a luscious fruit and have done exceptionally well in Air taisenhy’s nursery. They arc prolifiie hearers, and MV Lasenby estimates the weight of the crop from one vine fa first year) at dOlh.The climate of Tauranga evidently suits the Chinese gooseberry-