254 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



characters may disappear in cultivation and cannot be taken with im- 

 plicit conlTdence. The character of the thorns seems to be one of the 

 most constant points of difference. 



The Industry is a hybrid between these two. 



§ 2.' Thornless and prickless; leaves ])Iaited in the bud; racemes few 

 to many flowered ; stamens short. 



* Calyx dilated immediately above the ovary. 



Eibes nigrum Linn. — European Black Currant. — This is a 

 comparatively low growing, upright bush, bearing greenish-yellow 

 flowers, with a broad urn-shaped calyx. The leaves are sprinkled 

 with resinous dots on the underside. Fruit black. The whole plant 

 emits a strong, peculiar or disagreeable odor when cut or wounded, 

 and the fruit also partakes of the same odor. The plant is widely 

 distributed throughout the northern portions of the eastern hemi- 

 sphere, and commonly cultivated. It possesses very little importance 

 in this conntry, since its flavor and odor are too disagreeable to most 

 jjersons to render it popular. This is said to laigely disappear with 

 cooking and by many it is thought a superior fruit for jelly. 



Bibes rubrum Linn. — Garden Currant. — This is a low bush 

 with straggling or reclining stems. The leaves are without resinous 

 dots beneath and the flowers are borne in long, drooping racemes. 

 They are smaller and the calyx much narrower than in the preceding 

 species. The fruit, which is commonly smaller than the preceding, is 

 red, white, or even striped. The species is widely distributed over 

 the northern portions of both hemispheres wild as well as in cultiva- 

 tion. Being a native of this as well as the eastern hemisphere, there 

 is no trouble in regard to its adaptation to our climate and conditions, 

 for it seems to tiirive nearly or quite as well here as in Europe, though 

 the better culture often given there may secure larger fruit. 



** Calyx prolonged above the ovary into a campanulate or cy- 

 lindrical tube. 



Ribes sanguineum Pursh. — Red-Flowered Currant. — This 

 species reaches six feet in height, the young twigs are covered with 

 short brown, bristly hairs, which fall away with the bark at the end 

 of the first year, and the leaves are downy beneath. The flowers are 

 red,*in nodding racemes, being quite showy, tiiough not very large. 



