236 



The" Canadian Horticulturist. 



THE CULTURE OF BLACK CURRANTS. 



OTHING is easier of culture than the black currant, as it 



grows and bears well in any tolerable garden soil. To 



propagate them it is only necessary to plant in autumn 



or early spring, cuttings a foot long, in the open field or 



garden, and cultivate them ; they will root readily. The 



black currant should never be allowed to produce suck- 



" ers, and in order to prevent this, the superfluous buds 



should be knocked off when the plants are transplanted. This will keep them 



always in the shape of trees, with single stems and heads branching out at from 



12 to 20 inches from the ground. 



Thin out the useless wood every winter, and if extra large fruit is desired, 

 pinch off all the ends of the strong-growing shoots about the middle of June, 

 when the fruit is about half grown, thus keeping the plant from spending all its 

 energy in producing too much wood. I prefer, for large plantations. Black Naples, 

 Champion, and Collins' Prolific. I prefer to plant in check rows, 5)^ feet each 

 way. Perhaps there is no place in the world where better black currants are 

 grown than Great Britain and Holland. They are called currant trees, often 

 having clean stems on them three and four feet high. Keeping a clean stem 

 from 12 to 20 inches, enables one not only to till them easier, but to use a 

 picker, which I will endeavor to describe : It is in the shape of an inverted 

 umbrella cover — see Fig. 780. Put a canvas cover on the inside of the ribs of 

 a large bamboo-ribbed umbrella ; take out the braces and handle. To keep its 

 shape opened out, two steel No. 9 wires are fastened on the inside by being 

 wired to each rib, one near the outside, and the other near the bottom. These 

 give enough spring to clasp it around a stem, as it has to be opened only about 

 one inch to let the stem through the slot on the side to the centre of the picker. 

 The whole is mounted on three portable legs made of umbrella braces. Near 



Fig. 780— a Picker for Black Currants. 



