FRUIT CULTURE. 



837 



the most common of our small fruits, as well as the most easily grown, and has long since 

 been regarded as a necessary part of every garden. It is often neglected and allowed to 

 stand year after year in the sod with no care whatever, yet under these adverse circum 

 stances, it will produce very good crops. If properly cared for, the fruit will be much 

 larger, and more abundant than otherwise. The currant is an exceedingly hardy shrub, 

 usually growing from three to four feet high. The original wild species produces a small 

 and very sour fruit, but cultivation has produced great changes, and we now have varieties 



the single globes of 

 which will measure 

 an inch and a quarter 

 or more in circum 

 ference. The Black 

 Currant (Ribes m y- 

 rurn), is a distinct 

 species, and has large 

 leaves and a coarser 

 growth than the com 

 mon red or white 

 varieties.&quot; 



Varieties. 



There are compara 

 tively few varieties 

 of currants in com 

 mon cultivation. The 

 standard red varie 

 ties are FAY S PROLIF 

 IC, CHERRY, LA VER- 

 SAILLAISE, VICTO 

 RIA (a late variety), 

 and RED DUTCH. 

 The WHITE GRAPE is 

 the best white, and 

 the BLACK NAPLES, 

 and LEE S PROLIFIC 

 the best of the black 

 varieties. Fay s 

 Prolific is a very 

 hardy variety and an 

 abundant bearer; 

 the fruit being con 

 siderably above med 

 ium size and growing 

 in large clusters, as 

 is shown in the illus 

 tration of this va 

 riety, which repre 

 sents fruit grown by 



Mr. George S. Josselyn, Fredonia, N. Y. The Black Naples is an old and very large variety. 

 It is less acid than the red or white varieties, and has a musky flavor. Being of larger 

 growth than these, it requires more room in setting, and less pruning than the others mentioned. 



FAY S PROLIFIC. 



