iC; 



THE CUEKANT. 



lire €urr;iiit. 



HEN we consider how largely the Currant contributes to goo<l living, in the 

 way of tarts, jams, jellies, wines, &c. ; and how easily it is cultivated, how 

 little space it requires, how patient it is under all sorts of maltreatment ; we surely 

 must confess that it is a most valuable fruit — an indispensable fruit, — not for the 

 rich man or the poor man, but for every man who has a square yard of ground to till. 

 Valuable as it is, however, it has received comparatively little attention at the hands 

 either of experimental pomologists or practical fruit-growers. While we have had 

 new varieties of other fruits in abundance and to spare, our list of Currants has re- 

 mained pretty much the same for a great length of time. In cultivation, too, it has 

 been neglected — thrust into some out-of-the-way corner, where other fruits would 

 utterly refuse to thrive, and left to struggle with its fate — it receives no pruning, or 

 pinching, or training, or mulching, such as are lavished on its more favored neighbors. 



With all this neglect, it produces crops of fruit, and large crops too ; but of what 

 quality? — about as nearly equal to fine, well-grown Currants, as an austere Crah is 

 to a delicious Fall Pipj^in, or a common Damson Plum to a Oreen Gage. We are 

 quite certain that no other fruit is more susceptible of improvement, by good treat- 

 ment, than the Currant. Just try the experiment on a neglected bush that has been 

 left to itself for the last three or four years ; — apply the pruning knife judicious!}^, 

 remove all the suckers from about the roots, prune it up to a single stem six or twelve 

 inches from the ground, thin out the top branches, and then give it a liberal dressing- 

 of well-decomposed mianure, or good compost ; and you will be surprised at the size, 

 and beauty, and richness of your Currants. Follow up this mode of treatment for a 

 few years, and you may by that time know what fine Currants are. 



Currant bushes, as we too often find them, are complete nuisances — mere thickets 

 of weak branches. An annual pruning is necessary ; suckers must by no means be 

 tolerated, and the main branches should be kept at sufficient distance from each 

 other to admit the sun and air freely. The annual shoots should be shortened, in 

 order to keep up a good supply of lateral fruit-spurs. This applies only to the Red 

 and White varieties ; the Black bears its best fruit on the previous year's wood. 

 Then it is a great feeder, and must be annually treated to a light dressing of compost. 

 The roots are small and fibrous, and can not travel far in search of food. 



By proper management, the season of Currants may be greatly prolonged. Fcr 

 instance ; for early ripening, a few plants may be trained against the south side of a 

 garden fence. In this way they will ripen full two weeks sooner than in the open 

 quarter. For late ripening, train on the north side of a fence such late sorts as the 

 Victoria and Prince Albert. A new French variety, called La Hative, is said to bo 

 very early, and may on this account prove valuable. 



Training the Currant against a wall or fence is a very simple matter. It may be 

 done in this way : Take a young plant — say a year-old cutting — set it in its 



jA>'UAiiy 1, 1854. 1a No. L 



