BLACK CURRANTS. 



'K use them for the table, 

 with sugar the same as red 

 ones, but for this purpose 

 they need to be thoroughly 

 ripe : we make jam of them and can 

 them for winter. Jelly and cordial, 

 which are highly esteemed for medical 

 purposes, can also be made from them. 

 The jelly is thought to be particularly 

 beneficial in cases of sore throat, and 

 the cordial in summer complaints. 



It has always seemed strange to me 

 that more attention has not been paid 

 to them, for the cultivation is attended 

 with very little trouble and we have al- 

 ways found a ready sale for them in 

 market. In fact, with us, the demand 

 has always been greater than the supply 

 and the price obtained a little better 

 than that paid for red ones. 



The bushes are easily propagated 

 from cuttings, which can be planted 

 either in the fall or in the Spring. With 

 proper cultivation they make rapid 

 growth and bear quite abundantly the 

 second season after planting. They 



are long lived, some on our premises 

 being more than twelve years old to my 

 certain knowledge, and they still bear 

 fruit in great profusion. They are not 

 troubled by the currant worm. Some 

 think that by planting red currant 

 bushes among the black ones the 

 former escape the ravages of the currant 

 worm, but I am not quite prepared to 

 vouch for that. So far as I know, they 

 are not troubled by any blight or 

 disease. 



Currants are so much more easily 

 picked than strawberries or raspberries 

 that they find favor in my sight. The 

 stooping position necessary in picking 

 strawberries is very tiresome, and one 

 comes out of the raspberry season with 

 hands scratched and full of thorns and 

 garments as badly rent as if they had 

 sojourned forty years in the wilderness. 



To those who are raising small fruits 

 for market, I would say try some black 

 currants. If you have any English cus- 

 tomers you are sure of a market for 

 them — Vick's Magazine. 



ADVICE ABOUT STAWBERRIES. 



1. Strawberries do well on almost any 

 well drained soil, which is free from 

 frost, reasonably fertile, and not Infested 

 with white grubs. 



2. There is little danger of making 

 the soil too rich, but there is a possibility 

 of injuring the plants with commercial 

 fertilizers, if placed to closely about the 

 roots, and with coarse manure. 



3. Commercial fertilizers seem to have 

 no effect on white grubs, nor does man- 

 ure, but the latter stimulates the plants, 

 so as to repair the damage. 



4. The best fertilizers are well rotted 

 manure, bone meal and wood ashes. 



5. The best method of preparing the 

 soil is to plow in the fall, mulch with 

 manure, and fit the ground in the 

 Spring with cultivator and harrow. 



6. The best time to set strawberry 

 plants is in early Spring. When 

 plants are to be set in the fall they 

 should be especially grown for the pur- 

 pose, either in frames or in pots. 



7. For matted rows the plants should 

 be set 18 inches by four feet apart, and 

 for hills, one foot by three. 



8. In hill culture the runners are all 

 removed, and for the best results in 

 matted rows a part should be cut off, or 

 some of the plants dug out. 



y. Generally, it is better to keep a 

 bed only one season, but if kept longer 

 the best treatment is burning soon after 

 fruiting. 



I o. Winter protection should be given 

 by mulching, and the best material is 

 swamp hay. — Ohio Exp't Station Report 



309 



