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CURRANTS— HOW TO GROW THEM. 



F all fruits that can be grown in 

 this country the currant gives the 

 greatest return for the labor ex- 

 pended. No matter how poor the soil, 

 or how careless the cultivation, you can 

 expect a crop of currants. Though the 

 difference between a box of currants 

 such as is generally offered for sale, and 

 a box of, say, " Moore's Ruby," such as 

 I have grown, every bunch with 20 to 

 24 berries on it, is very great, and the 

 difference in quality is even greater. 



There is no fruit that responds so 

 readily to good feeding and careful cul- 

 tivation. 



The best soil is a good sandy loam, 

 which should be deeply spaded and well 

 manured before planting, as the roots 

 grow veryclose to the surface, and should 

 be interfered with as little as possible 

 after planting. 



All varieties grow freely from cuttings 

 of the present year's growth, which do 

 best planted in August, though very well 

 any time before frost, or in the following 

 spring. 



Make cuttings about 6 in. long, plant 

 in rows a foot apart, inclining the cut- 

 tings at an angle of 45°, so that the 

 lower end won't be too far below the 

 surface, leaving one end above ground ; 

 mulch with light manure or sawdust, to 

 keep the earth moist, and by the end of 

 the following summer 90 per cent, of 

 them will be good strong plants, ready 



to be set out in their permanent quarters. 

 Give them plenty of room, about 6 feet 

 each way is little enough. After plant- 

 ing mulch with well-rotted manure. Of 

 course a year can be saved by buying 

 your plants from a nurseryman, and they 

 are sold so low now, that when only a 

 few are wanted for home use, it is the 

 better way. 



All the cultivation that is necessary 

 the first year is to keep down weeds and 

 pinch out the tip of any shoot that is 

 growing too fast for the rest. 



The second year there will be a few 

 bunches of fruit, the third year enough 

 to pay expenses, and a full crop every 

 year after for ten or twelve years, when 

 it is better to start a new plantation, as 

 the finest fruit is got from bushes three 

 to six or seven years old. 



Pruning after the second year consists 

 in cutting out all surplus canes from the 

 centre of the bush, and all that tend to 

 lie on or close to the ground. The best 

 season is in August, after the fruit is off 

 and wood growth has ceased. 



If you want to grow the largest berries 

 possible, in June, when the new wood is 

 about 6 inches long pinch out the ends 

 of every shoot, by so doing you check 

 wood growth, and throw the energies of 

 the plant into the fruit, and also very 

 much reduce the amount of pruning 

 necessary in August. 



Good feeding requires a mulch of 



