This section is from the "The Fruit Manual; Containing The Descriptions and synonymes of the fruits and fruit trees commonly met with in the gardens & orchards of Great Britain, with selected lists of those most worthy of cultivation" book, by Robert Hogg. Also available from Amazon: The Fruit Manual
Berberries, though, not cultivated to any extent, may be enumerated among the British fruits. The Common Berberry is found wild in hedgerows, and is also sometimes grown in shrubberies, both as an ornamental plant, and for its fruit, which is preserved in sugar, for use in the dessert. The best variety to cultivate for that purpose is the following, but it is difficult to be obtained true.
Stoneless Berberry.—A variety of the Common Berberry, without seeds. This character is not assumed till the shrub has become aged; for young suckers, taken from an old plant of the true variety, very frequently, and indeed generally, produce fertile fruit during the early years of their growth; it is, therefore, necessary to be assured that the plants were taken from an aged stock, in which the stoneless character had been manifested, to be certain that the variety is correct.
 
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