Ringing the Currant Vine in Greece. 363 



RINGING THE CURRANT VINE IN GREECE. 



By F. B. Wood f British Consul at Patra.sJ. 



Patras is now tlie centre of the Currant Trade, and what yon 

 ' call Zante Currants are produced in large quantities throughout most 

 districts of the Peloponnesus. The total average annual produce is 

 now about 160,000 tons, and of these about l^O^OOO are grown in this 

 Consular district, and only about 20,000 in the Islands of Zante and 

 Cephalonia. The practice of cincturing or ring-barking the currant 

 plant (ring-cutting it is called in this country) dates back about 50 

 years, and was first introduced to combat the effects of the oidium 

 blight. In 1852 the entire crop of currants was attacked by this 

 malady, and almost completely destroyed. No remedy was discovered, 

 and the 1853 and 1854 crops suffered equally. In 1855 the sulphur 

 remedy was successfully applied, i.e., sulphur in fine powder sprinkled 

 over the vines with bellows two or three times during the early stages 

 of growth in the spring. The malady was arrested, but the plants, 

 evidently suffering from the effects of this three years' visitation, were 

 much weakened, and only bore very small berried and shrivelled 

 fruit. Some growers, at the instigation, no doubt, of some 

 agricultural school, first attempted ring cutting in 1855 — -with satisfac- 

 tory results — the fruit attained much greater development, and when 

 dried the berry was almost double the size of the unring-cut produce. 

 The bold currants gradually grew into favour in most markets, and 

 during the course of the last 50 years the entire cui-rant crop, one may 

 say, is jinnually subjected to this process. Only in Zante and 

 Cephalonia do they still grow a few hundred tons of unring-cut 

 ■currants, as they are called in trade. 



The process is, of course, anomalous and unnatural, and has 

 proved very deti'imental to the vitality of the currant vine, and to the 

 keeping quality of the dried currant. It is very difficult to give 

 accurate figures and statistics in reference to a growth which has 

 really only been under careful scientific observation for the last 30 

 years ; but it is traditionally reported and believed, that the currant 

 vine, before ring-cutting was resorted to, retained its full vitality and 

 full bearing power for a century and more ; whereas the present 

 plants begin to show signs of decay after 30 or 40 years. Ring-cut 

 currants, although much bolder than unring-cut produce, are not 

 nearly so sweet, and also lose their aromatic flavour and smell to a 

 great extent. The skin of the berry also, which in the unring-cut 

 currant is very thin and velvety to the touch, becomes coarse and hard 

 to the touch and taste. It is an axiom with currants that the more 

 saccharine matter they contain the better they are in appearance, 

 flavour, touch, and keeping quality. The unring-cut currant, before 

 1852, used to keep perfectly sound and sweet for ten years or more, 

 whereas the ring-cut fruit begins to fall off after the first year, and is 

 generally unmerchantable after the third season. 



