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Raspberries

The raspberry is a delicious fruit, extensively used in cookery and in the manufacture of various cordials. Though very wholesome and refreshing, it is scarcely so highly esteemed as either the strawberry or the red currant. There are two kinds of raspberries--the red and the white. The white are the rarer of the two. This fruit is a native of Great Britain, and is often met with in woods, in low-lying situations. To most tastes it is very grateful as nature presents it, but by the addition of sugar it is much improved; the raspberry is, therefore, much esteemed when used for jams and tarts and made into sweetmeats. "The ancients hardly mention the raspberry-tree, which they placed on a level with the bramble. The Latins called it `Bramble of Ida,' because it was common on that mountain. There can be no doubt, however, that the Romans knew how to appreciate the raspberry-tree, as much esteemed in our days."--Soyer. The fruit of the different varieties of raspberry is in season from the end of June or July till October or later. As it ripens it should be timely gathered for immediate use; because when fully ripe it will not keep above two or three days before it moulds, or becomes maggoty and unfit to be used.