28 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



taken from the brewliouse, a first-rate 

 material is produced for mixing with 

 loam, or aaj'^ other soil that may be 

 used for striking or potting on soft- 

 wooded plants. Some of the best 

 fuchsias I ever saw, either for vigorous 

 growth or size, and richness of blos- 

 som, were some grown by myself in 

 the summer of 1861, ia equal parts, 



two-year-old rotted hops, and two- 

 year-old road sand from a macadam- 

 ized road. They are also very useful 

 as a mulching material in the summer 

 season for beds of asters, or similar 

 things that delight in moisture, and in 

 a medium into which they can pro- 

 trude abundance of roots. 



Stamford Hill. W. Chitty. 



PETJIT CULTUEE. 



BED, WHITE, AND BLACK CUEEANTS. 



These useful fruits require so little 

 care to insure an abundant produc- 

 tion, that they are too frequently 

 denied care altogether, and in conse- 

 quence become unsightly, and give 

 but a poor return for the ground they 

 occupy. Yet to grow them well is of 

 the very first importance, no less to 

 the prince than the peasant, for not 

 only are they the most wholesome 

 and generally useful of all summer 

 fruits, but in the form of preserves 

 and jellies invaluable for winter use, 

 either for the purposes of the cook or 

 the wants of the sick-chamber. It is 

 one of the joys of summer time to in- 

 hale from the lower regions the frag- 

 rance of the simmering jam when 

 large supplies of the black and coral 

 coloured fruits have been gathered 

 and sent within doors, and when the 

 store of apples and pears is getting 

 low, how welcome are those savoury 

 jam-pots that have been long hidden 

 in the store clipboard, and which trip 

 out of it at the festive season as if they 

 belonged of right to the machinery of 

 pantomime. Show me your currant 

 bushes, and I will say at once if you 

 are anything of a gardener. If these 

 are not good examples of culture, I do 

 not expect to see anything creditable, 

 and I will never believe that a cottager 

 is worthy of the gift of a dozen apple 

 bushes unless I see first that he can 

 grow currants to perfection. But 

 there is no difficulty, and the whole 

 subject may be dispatched in a few 

 words. 



Soil AND Aspect. — Red and white 

 currants require to be grown in full 

 exposure to sunshine, and in cold 



climates are the better for some shel- 

 ter from north and east winds. In. 

 the shade they do not ripen their 

 wood properly, and the fruit lacks 

 flavour. But the black currant thrives 

 in moderate shade, and in making 

 plantations of bush fruits the sunniest 

 positions should be given to the first, 

 and damp, shady positions, generally 

 ill adapted for fruit culture, will serve 

 admirably for black currants. 



Any tolerably good loamy soU. will 

 serve for the culture of these fruits ; 

 but for red and white currants the 

 soil should be moderately well drained. 

 For black cui'rants the drainage is of 

 less consequence, though even these 

 come to little good in places that are 

 often water-logged. Drainage is, 

 therefore, essential to all. 



On chalk and sand the black cur- 

 rant produces small berries, unless 

 abundantly manured, but moderate 

 manuring will suffice for red and 

 white currants on such soils, but to 

 counteract the effects of drought, 

 liberal mulchings of half rotten dung 

 or grass, more or less, should be used 

 during the summer, which will also 

 tend to eni'ich the surface soil, and 

 keep the trees in full vigour. Old 

 garden soils intended to be planted 

 with these fruits should first be 

 trenched full two spits deep, and be 

 well manured, and if the cultivator 

 has command of plenty of oyster- 

 shells, or old plaster, or any broken 

 building refuse of a calcareous nature, 

 it may be plentifully used to mix with 

 the top spit, as these fruits are aU 

 partial to a moderate amount of the 

 salts of lime in the soil. On cold 



