622 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



HARVESTING 



Currants which are harvested for market purposes should be picked 

 and liandlcd with care. The berries s]u)uld not be stripped from the stem 

 but taken from the bush with tlie clusters intact. The fruit should be 

 drj' when picked and not over-ripe. For nearby markets or for home 

 use, they may be left on the bushes until nearly ripe but for shipments to 

 a distant market tlie fruit should be picked while still very lirm though 

 well colored. The fruit is picked greener for jelly than for canning, a 

 few green berries sliowing on each cluster. 



Gooseberries are practically always marketed in the green state. Tlie 

 thorny nature of the bushes makes picking rather difficult, but if the 

 brancli is lifted with one hand and the fruit picked with the other there 

 is litlh' trouble as the fruit is found mostly on the loAver side of the 

 branch. On a commercial scale the fruit is usually stripped from the 

 bushes, — the pickers wearing heavy gloves, — and run through a fanning 

 mill to remove the leaves. 



Currants and gooseberries are commonly marketed in quart boxes which 

 are packed in the ordinary sixteen-quart crate for shipment. 



LIFE OF PLANTATION 



With good care and proper pruning, currants and gooseberries may be 

 kept in a profitable condition for many years, but it is better to set 

 out new plants on a new site every eight to twelve years. The bushes will 

 live and bear some fruit much longer than this, but th'ey will not be as 

 vigorous and productive as younger plants. The bushes become croAvded 

 and harder to manage as they get older and the fruit deteriorates in size. 

 Young ])lants are so much more vigorous and productive that they soon 

 more Ihan repay the cost of planting. Old bushes in the honu^ garden 

 may sometimes be rejuvenated by cutting oil" all the canes close lo I lie 

 groiiixl and giving a heavy application of well rolled manure. 



IN.IUKIOUS INSECTS AND DISEASES 



There are many insects and diseases which attack the currants and 

 gooseberries but fortunately only a few do sutlicient damage to become^, 

 seriously important in Michigan. Brief descriptions of the more common 

 ones and measures for their control are mentioned here. 



INSECTS 



Approved by the Department of Entomology. 



The most important insects injurioits to the currants and gooseberries 

 are the San Jose scale, currant borer, currant worm, and ilie cnrrani 

 ]>lant louse. 



Han Jose i^cale. This insect is often a serious pest on the currants and 

 if left without any effort to control them soon kill the plants. The 

 scales are about the size of a pin head and when badly infested the twigs 

 have an ashy appearance. Currant bushes should be frequently inspected 

 for tliis insect especially in localities where it is known t(» exist and if 

 any are found, the bushes should l»e thoroughly sprayed ('ailv in the 



