CURRANTS—HOW TO GROW THEM. 



three or four inches of stable manure 

 every fall, two to three feet on each side 

 of the row, which should be supple- 

 mented by a dressing of bonedust, and 

 a good potash fertilizer at the rate of 

 I Y2 lbs. of the mixture to each bush in 

 the spring ; the winter mulch may be 

 forked on very lightly in the spring, or 

 may, if not objected to on the ground of 

 untidiness, be left on all summer. The 

 less the earth is disturbed within three 

 feet of the stem, the better, as the roots 

 being near the surface a great deal of 

 mischief is done by deep cultivation, 

 even with a digging fork. A spade 

 should never be used near currants. If 

 the soil is very light a mulch of straw or 

 marsh hay is very useful in conserving 

 moisture in a dry season, but if water is 

 available and the rake is industriously 

 used to keep the surface friable, a mulch 

 is not necessary. 



The great enemy of the red and white 

 currant is the " Currant Worm," which 

 works such havoc in May, if not checked, 

 destroying in a few days every leaf on the 

 bush ; and with the leaves goes the crop 

 for that season. The first brood is 

 hatched out in this locality about the 

 20th to 24th of May. As soon as they 

 begin eating the leaves, apply Paris green ; 

 one teaspoonful to a wooden pail of 

 water, with a whisk, or, better, a spray 

 pump, being careful to get it well into 

 the centre of the bush when the worms 

 begin their work. One application as a 

 rule, is enough for the season, but some 

 years a second brood appears as the fruit 

 ripens ; it is not safe to use Paris green 

 then, but a good substitute is White 

 Hellebore, about i oz. to a wood pail 

 of water, applied in the same way as the 

 Paris green. 



The only other enemy of the currant 

 worth considering, is the currant stem 

 borer. The parent insect lays her eggs 

 near the buds : when hatched the larva 



eats into the centre of the stem travelling 

 up and down, living upon the pith, their 

 presence may be detected by the sickly 

 look of the leaves and small size of the 

 fruit. The only remedy is to cut out 

 the affected canes and burn them. 



In black currants, Lee's prolific is a 

 good variety, much superior in size and 

 flavor to Black Naples or Black English. 

 Champion, and Prince of Wales are said 

 to be good kinds, but I have not fruited 

 them yet. The Cromwell, so industri- 

 ously puffed by some nurserymen, is 

 nothing but the old Ribes Auseum or 

 Golden Currant of old gardens, a very 

 pretty flowering shrub, but as a fruit it 

 is utterly worthless ; the crop is so small 

 as not to be worth picking, and the 

 quality so poor that I have never met 

 anyone that would eat a second one. 



In white, by far the most extensively 

 grown is " White Grape," long consid- 

 ered the finest flavored of all currants ; 

 unfortunately, it is rather small in size, 

 and has a bad habit of dropping the end 

 berries of the bunch. Last summer I 

 fruited for the first time, " White Gon- 

 doin," and was very ^ much pleased with 

 it ; though rather more acid than White 

 Grape, it is so much larger in bunch and 

 berry, that it will prove a formidable 

 rival to that old favorite 



Among the reds, "Moore's Ruby " is 

 decidedly the best variety I know of. 

 An upright, strong grower ; bunch long, 

 frequently 22 to 24 berries in the raceme, 

 berry large, a prolific bearer, and quality 

 the very best, sweeter and finer flavored 

 even than White Grape. I have grown 

 it for ten years and have yet to find a 

 fault in it. 



An excellent variety is "Wilder Red," 

 not so sweet as " Moore's Ruby ; " not 

 very desirable, as large in bunch and 

 berry as " Fay," and a much stronger 

 grower. The weak growth of the " Fay" 

 is its greatest defect ; one of the largest 



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