286 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



December, 1913 



son. It requires a few .years for a cull 

 to regain its normal growth, and one can 

 depent' on thrifty one-year-olds to keep 

 right on growing, providing they have 

 proper care. 



PLANTING 



Planting may be done in the fall or 

 spiirg. If conditions are favorable, the 

 fill! is the best, for the reason that cur- 

 rants leaf out and start into growth very 

 early, and if the ground is wet and planl- 

 h,g time is postponed, they receive a set 

 back. I have seen them planted out 

 when in full leaf, but they did not do 

 well. By planting in the fall, they be- 

 ccnie established before winter sets in, 

 and are ready for business in the spring. 

 They should not be pruned until spring, 



There are many methods of marking a 

 field out for planting. If one wishes to 

 be very particular, every hole should be 

 marked with a stake, but this method is 

 n'-.t usually employed commercially where 

 the money end of the game is the one 

 aimfd at. 



7h< following method is easy, cheap, 

 and satisfactory. Having decided the 

 disiance the rows are to be apart, place 

 white stakes about five feet long at each 

 end of the field the required distance 

 apart. Then by sighting from each end 

 of the field from these stakes, other long 

 stakes can be placed at intervals down 

 the rows. These stakes are used merelv 

 as a guide for the plowman. Plow a fur- 

 row out each way and then take another 

 furrow out of the bottom so as to deepen 

 it. A wire on which the distances are 

 marked with solder or tar can then be 

 stretched along the furrow and a hole 

 cleaned out at each mark for the plant. 

 This method reduces shovellingi to a 

 minimum. 



The plants should be placed fairly 

 deep, as we want them to grow in bush 

 form and to sucker freely. They should 

 be deep enough so that the first few 

 branches are covered with earth at the 

 junction with the main stem. 



Patches vary a great deal as to dis- 

 tances of planting. Some people recom- 

 mend four feet by six feet, others six feet 

 by eight feet. I know of a patch twenty- 

 two years old planted three and one-half 

 feet by seven feet, but the former dis- 

 tance is a little too close for satisfactory 

 cultivation crosswise, and every other 

 bush has since been taken out. Another 

 patch of two acres planted five years ago 

 at three and one-half feet by nine feet 

 is already too close in the rows to allow 

 cross cultivation. The reason for plant- 

 ing the rows at nine feet apart was to 

 allow a power sprayer to be used, as 

 currants should be sprayed for the best 

 success. Also, two-horse implements 

 may be used to advantage. P'rom ex- 

 perience gained from our own mistakes, 



we have formed a pew Wfai of pli»ntiog 



distances, and it is this. The bushes 

 should be five feet apart in the row. This 

 gives plenty of room for the bush and 

 also for cross cultivation. The rows 

 should be seven feet and nine feet apart. 

 Starting on one side of the field, plant 

 three rows seven feet apart and then 

 there should be a space of nine feet and 



A Heavy Yielding Current 



The red currants on the branch here shown 

 were grown by Mr. Wm. Dick. Echo Place, Ont. 

 He considers it a better variety, known as Tam 

 O'Shanter. than the Cherry currant. It is an 

 Old Country yariety and very prolific. 



then another three rows seven feet apart. 

 This method economizes a little space 

 and yet provides a space for the power 

 sprayer. Even if a grower does not in- 

 tend to use a large sprayer, it is best to 

 have the spaces wide enough to be able 

 to drive a manure waggon through, as 

 driving over the top of the bushes is 

 certain to cause injury to the buds. 



CULTIVATION 



Thorough cultivation is absolutely ne- 

 cessary for best success. In the fall plow 

 up to the bushes and thoroughly furrow 

 out the patch so that no surface water 

 will remain on the ground. 



The patch should then be in good con- 

 dition to stand the winter. Cultivation 

 should begin in the spring as early as 

 the ground is workable. A good imple- 

 ment to use is the two-horse springtooth 

 cultivator, which works the soil up into 

 fine particles. Cross cultivation can be 

 done with a one-horse springtooth culti- 

 vator. The earth and weeds which re- 

 main in the middle of the bush can be 

 taken out with a berry fork. After this 

 the patch should be cultivated at least 

 once a week to preserve a dust mulch 

 until after the crop is off, when cultiva- 

 tion should cease. This gives the young 

 succulent wood a chance to ripen before 

 winter s«t5 in ,and Mso geqeraJly aJJpw? 



a beautiful crop of chickweed to develop. 

 If manure is applied it should be put on 

 in the fall and plowed down so as to be 

 partially rotted and available as plant 

 food when growth begins in the spring. 



FERTILIZATION 



The soil should be kept rich, and for 

 this purpose twenty tons of manure may 

 be applied every three years. This does 

 not seem to be a very heavy application, 

 but judging from what I have seen, it 

 is enough. 



Nobody knows much about the benefit 

 of commercial fertilizers on their crops 

 as yet. The manure may be supplement- 

 ed by a two-eight-ten mixture, but I 

 would not recommend commercial fer- 

 tilizers alone, as in time the proper me- 

 chanical nature of the soil would become 

 injured. 



PEUNING 



Black currants bear the fruit on wood 

 of the preceding year's growth. As the 

 canes become older the size of the fruit 

 deteriorates, as it is necessary to prac- 

 tise a system of renewal in pruning. Red 

 currants bear their best fruit on two- 

 year-old wood, and canes should not be 

 allowed to remain longer than five years. 



Pruning may be done at any time after 

 the leaves fall, but it is usually carried 

 on in late winter. No set rule can be 

 laid down, as many different conditions 

 are met with and a good deal of judg- 

 ment and commonsense has to be exer- 

 cised. Canes which have passed the age 

 of greatest productiveness should be re- 

 moved and young ones allowed to take 

 their place. Broken branches and those 

 too close to the ground should also be 

 removed. Young, \igorous branches 

 should be headed back to encoucrage the 

 production of fruit spurs all along their 

 length. This is particularly the case 

 with the Fay variety, which has a ten- 

 dency to produce its fruit spurs near the 

 end of the branches, and when the bushes 

 are loaded heavily, they are liable to be 

 borne to the ground, allowing the fruit 

 to become spoiled. 



Young plants must not have much 

 pruning for three years except to cut 

 back about two-thirds of the growth each 

 year to encourage the development of 

 fruit spurs. Pinching back the shoots in 

 the summer is not practiced much, but 

 the patch should be watched for canes 

 that may have the cane-borer. All suchf 

 should be cut out and burned. The best 

 tool for pruning is a good heavy pair of 

 grape prunes. 



The very worst advertisement for On- 

 tario .apple growers in the west is the 

 appearance of a poor grade of Ontario 

 barrelled fruit exposed for sale side by 

 side with the beautiful appearance of the 

 boxed goods from Oregon or British 



Cplmnbia-— C. J, Thornton, M.P, 



