STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETr. 323 



berries require the same culture and care as blackberries. The best 

 varieties are Jjucretia and Bartell's Mammoth. Cover with mar^ 

 hay, and in spring tie them to a single wire eighteen inches above 

 ground. 



CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES IN MINNESOTA. 

 By S. A. Mc Henry, St. Charles, 



Currants and goosberries though not the most valuable of fruits 

 have their places to fill as well as the strawberry and the more deli- 

 cate fruits. 



They are natives of this country, and are generally found on damp, 

 heavy soil when growing wild. As the)'' by nature have chosen a 

 damp heavy soil it would be well to give them a similar soil when 

 planted for cultivstion. When such a soil is not to be had, much may 

 be done to insure success by deep plowing, subsoiling, and by an 

 abundance of mulch around the plants throughout the summer. Cur- 

 rants and gooseberries require a great amount of nutriment, and 

 should receive an annual dressing of some heavy compost in which 

 muck, leaf-mould, wood ashes and cleanings from a cow stable are 

 largely present. The best time for transplanting the bushes is in the 

 fall any time after the wood is ripe, but if set very early in the spring 

 nearly the same results may be obtained. They should be planted in 

 rows four feet by six. By planting this distance they may be culti- 

 vated both ways. 



A hoed crop may be planted between the rows the first two ydars. 

 The plants should be set about two inches deeper than they stood in 

 the nursery row. If two year old plants are set, fruit iu paying quan- 

 tities may be expected two years from time of setting. 



After the first three years they will require less cultivation and 

 more mulching. They may be trained in either the bush or the tree 

 form, but if fruit alone is the object the former method is best and 

 is most natural for the bushes and requires less labor. If for orna- 

 mental or other purposes the tree form is desired it would be well to 

 train them so from the cutting, by removing all but the top bud from 

 the cutting at the time of setting. Young wood produces the best 

 fruit. The old wood should be cut out as soon as it begins to show 

 signs of weakness and bears fruit of inferior size. 



One great advantage of currants and gooseberries over most small 

 fruits is that they may be left on the bushes for some time after they 

 are ripe, but when so left they do not ship as well as when promptly 



