190 
ing; calyx campanulate ; petals longer than the calyx. 
Native of Nipaul, on Emodi and Gosaingsthan. 
Berries black. 
Icy Currant. Fl. April, May. Clt. 1823. Sh. 4 to 6 feet. 
55 R. nicrum (Lin. spec. 291.) leaves dotted from glands be- 
neath, 3-5-lobed; racemes loose ; bracteas minute, subulate or 
obtuse, much shorter than the pedicels; petals oblong ; calyx 
campanulate, with reflexed segments. p. H. Native of Europe 
and Siberia, in woods ; plentiful in some parts of Britain about the 
banks of rivers, in the north of England and in Scotland. Berl. 
l.c. t. 2. f. 21. Woodv. med. bot. t. 75. Fl. dan. 556. Blackw. 
285. Smith, engl. bot. 1291. R. élidum, Meench. meth. 683. 
Flowers whitish green; calyx often of a rich brownish red- 
colour. Stamens sometimes more than 5, and there are fewer 
petals; so that when there are 10 stamens, there are no petals; 
this change of petals into stamens is just the reverse of the pro- 
cess by which single flowers become double ; but it is the only 
fact of the kind which has hitherto been observed. Stigmas bifid. 
Berries globose, black, glandular. The black currant is a shrub 
with smoothish branches, strong smelling leaves, with a solitary 
1-flowered pedicel at the base of each raceme. The flowers 
appear in April, and the fruit ripens in June and July, and 
changes from a green to a black colour. It is a native of most 
parts of Europe, especially the more northern parts. It abounds 
in the woods in the north of Russia, and the subalpine regions 
of Siberia, where the branches and berries are very large, and 
sapid. In Britain it is found in wet hedges, on the banks of 
rivers, in alder swamps, and sometimes in woods. 
Use.—The fruit, which has a peculiar flavour, and disliked by 
some, is seldom brought to the dessert; but it is eaten in pud- 
dings and tarts, and made into jellies and wines. The Russians 
put the berries into brandy, and the Irish into whisky, in the 
same way as the English put cherries: the Russians also ferment 
the juice with honey, and so form a strong and palateable wine. 
Many cottagers, who cannot afford to mix green tea with black, 
substitute one or two dried leaves of the black currant, the 
flavour produced by which few are so acute as to distinguish 
from that of the mixture of green and black tea. 
The varieties are as follow : 
1 Wild black. 2 Black grape, Ogder’s black grape. 3 Black 
Naples, Cassis of the French; this is one of the best of black 
currants. 4 Green-fruited black; fruit of a dingy colour, of no 
value. 5 Russian green. 
Propagation.— By cuttings. See gooseberry. 
Soil and site.—A moist soft soil, and shady situation ; such as 
is afforded by borders of north exposure is preferable. Miller 
says, “the fruit is always best when the plants are placed in an 
open situation, in light loamy soil.” 
Final planting.—As only a few plants are in general required 
for private gardens, these may be placed at the distance recom- 
mended for gooseberries, in the margin of a shady border, or 
against a wall of a north exposure. Mr. Neill says, it produces 
most fruit as a standard, but the largest berries when. trained to 
a wall. 
Mode of bearing.—The black currant bears chiefly on the 
shoots of the preceding year, and also from snags and spurs, 
which, however, are less abundant, and of smaller size in the 
black currant than in the gooseberry or red currant. 
Insects and diseases.—The black currant is seldom attacked 
by insects, though, like the elder tree, it has its own variegated 
caterpillar, which sometimes reduces it to a state of complete 
nudity. 
Gathering the fruit.—See red currant. 
Forcing.—The black currant may be forced in pots like the 
gooseberry. In Russia this is often done for the sake of the 
fragrance of the leaves. 
W.H. 
Flowers white. 
GROSSULARIEŁEÆ. 
I. Rises. 
Black Currant. Fl. April. Britain. Shrub 4 to 6 feet, 
56 R. Bresersteinn (Berl. mss. ex D. C. prod. 3. p. 482.) 
leaves cordate, acutely 3-5-lobed, sharply and doubly serrated, 
rather pilose above, and villously tomentose beneath; serratures 
numerous ; racemes nodding ; petals minute. h. H. Native 
of Caucasus. R. Caucdsicum, Bieb. fl. taur. suppl. 160. but not 
of Adams. Leaves having a strong scent like those of R. nigrum. 
Berries black. 
Bieberstein’s Currant. Shrub 4 to 6 feet. : 
57 R. Hupsonta'num (Richards in Frankl. first. journ. ed. 2. 
append. p. 6.) branches erect; leaves 3-lobed, quite glabrous 
above, full of resinous dots beneath, and are, as well as the pe- 
tioles, villous; germens dotted; berries globose, glabrous, 
black ; racemes erect, pubescent; bracteas short; segments of 
the calyx, which is campanulate, spreading. k. H. Native of 
North America, from Hudson’s Bay to the Rocky Mountains, in 
the west, and as far north as lat. 57°. Flowers small; petals 
white. The fruit, and peculiar odour of the plant, are that of R. 
nigrum. i ; 
Var. B% racemes longer; calyx smovthish. h. H. Native 
of the north-west coast of America, on the mountains of the 
Columbia, about the Kettle Falls. R, petiolare, Doug. in hort. 
trans. 7. p. 514. 
Hudson’s Bay Currant. Shrub 3 to 4 feet. ; 
58 R. rLórIDUM (Lher. stirp. 1. p. 4.) leaves full of resinous 
glands, 3 or 5-lobed, cordate, double-serrated ; racemes pendu- 
lous, pubescent; bracteas linear, longer than the pedicels ; calyx 
tubularly campanulate, glabrous : with the segments obtuse, and 
at length reflexed ; germens and black berries oval-globose, gla- 
brous. h. H. Native throughout Canada; and of Pennsyl- 
vania. Berl. 1l. c. t. 2. f.22. R. nigrum £, Lin. spec. 291. R. 
Pennsylvánicum, Lam. dict. 3. p. 49. R. recurvàtum, Michx. A. 
bor. amer. 1. p. 109. according to Torrey.—Ribésium nigrum, 
&c. Dill. elth. 2. t. 244, f. 315. This is in many respects allied 
to R. nigrum, but its more copious, denser flowers, and espe- 
cially the long bracteas, and more tubular calyx, will always dis- 
tinguish it ; the solitary pedicel too at the base of the flowers 1s 
wanting in this species. Petals oblong, rather erose at the apes-, 
Flowering Currant. Fl. April, May. Clt. 1729. Sh. 4to6 ft. 
59 R. ine‘srtans (Lindl. in bot. reg. 1471.) leaves roundish, 
deeply 3-5-lobed, and deeply toothed, truncate at the base, 
glandular on both surfaces ; petioles pubescent ; peduncles 8-5- 
flowered, pendulous; flowers aggregate ; calyx tubular, pand 
lar, with the segments recurved. h. H. Native of Nort 
America. Calyx greenish white, with the tube 4 lines long: 
Leaves smelling like those of R. fléridum. The species was 
received from Mr. Floy of New York, under the name of in- 
toxicating currant, but without any account of its quality. The 
berries probably possess some narcotic quality. fee 
Intoxicating Currant. Clt.1827. Fl. April. Shrub 3 to 4 
60 R. ce'Reum (Dougl. in hort. trans. 7. p. 512. bot. reg. 
1263. Hook. fl. bor. amer. 1. p. 234.) leaves small, cordate, 
lobed, serrated, clothed with glandular pubescence, glabrous, 
glaucous, full of white glands above; racemes pendulous, rather 
capitate ; bracteas ovate, adpressed to the germens, which arè 
glabrous; flowers nearly sessile, cylindrical, rather angular ; ° 
calycine segments small, reflexed. h. H. Native of North- 
west America, on the banks of the Columbia, and its southern 
tributary streams, from the Great Falls to the Rocky Mountain 
in gravelly or sandy soil. In the small foliage, and faw-Bor 
ered racemes, this species resembles the gooseberry tribe, bu 
without any thorns. The flowers are rather large and white 
with a slight tinge of green, rather downy. White waxy or 
like scales cover the upper surface of the leaf, whence the spec 
fic name. 
Waxy-leaved Currant. Fl. April. Clt. 1827. Shrub 2 to 3 f 
8 
