Ringing the Currant Vine. 147 



RINGING THE CURRANT VINE. 



By Thos. Hardy. 



Several years ago, when Mr. C. W. Grasby, of Adelaide, made an 

 •extended tonr throngh the currant-growing districts of Greece, he 

 gathered much valuable information regarding the treatment of the 

 vines, which he afterwards brought under the notice of local growers 

 through the medium of the pages of the Garden and Field. 



One of the most useful hints obtained in this visit related ttj the 

 practice of " ringing," an o])eration which consisted in making a 

 sim])le cut or incision around the base of the fruiting canes, or in 

 removing a narrow ring of bark, during the blossoming period. It 

 was said that the effect of this was to increase the yield of fruit and 

 the size of the berries. Many growers then ex])erimented in this way 

 m South Australia, and met with the most gratifying results, and now a 

 considerable body of information is available from local sources. 



How the Ringing is Done. 



Special implements are manufactured in Germany for this work, 

 and some of these have been imported recently, and by their use the 

 <tperation is greatly simplified. The usual practice has been to take 

 •out a narrow ring, about an eight of an inch in diameter, at the base 

 of the fruiting canes. Sometimes the main stems are treated in this 

 way, and so far as the first year is concerned, there ap])ears to be 

 little, if any, difference in the results from the vai'ious methods in use; 

 but in after years it is found that the removal of a ring of bark causes 

 such stunted growth that this method cannot be recommended. 

 Another and better way is to merely make a single cut round the cane 

 and push the bark aside, which is said, by those who have tried it, to 

 answer just as well. Experiments were tried by myself and others 

 last season, to determine whether a simple incision without removing 

 any of the bark, would prove as effective in increasing the yield as 

 taking out a ring. It seems fairly certain that the effect is practically 

 the same as far as the increase in yield and size of the berries is 

 concerned, but the simple incision has the great advantage of causing 

 very much less injury to the vines, and the cut heals over quickly. 

 Whatever plan is adopted, the incision must be made when the vine 

 is in bloom^ and it seems as if the check then given causes the setting 

 to be more satisfactory. 



The Effect on the Yield and on the Vine. 



In South Australia we have definitely proved that not only the 

 crops, but also the size of the berries from the ringed vines, are largely 

 increased. In some instances half as much again as is usually obtained 

 has been recorded, which must be regarded as extremely satisfactory. 



