CURRANTS PLANTING. , S3 



or, if ripe, it is scattered on the ground. Exposed sites may be protected by a hedge. 

 Naturally sheltered situations are best, such as hollows, or flat sites, where the violence 

 of the wind is broken by higher ground or distant trees. In such places, and in 

 good soil, the black currant luxuriates and produces abundant crops. It requires mois- 

 ture, and thrives in ground by the side of ditches, brooks, ponds, and other damp places 

 where no other fruit can be grown satisfactorily. It also succeeds at high elevations, giv- 

 ing bountiful crops in sheltered positions upwards of 500 feet above the level of the sea. 



Soil. The black currant delights in a deep rich mellow loam, preferring alluvial 

 soils on a cool base. It utterly fails in dry, sandy, or gravelly soils, moisture being 

 indispensable for its well-being. Clay soil mollified with sand, rendering it permeable 

 by the small feeding roots, is suitable for black currants ; and the rather strong loam 

 intermingled with flints, such as obtains in some parts of Hertfordshire and in East 

 Kent, produces the fullest crops of the finest fruit. Though wet land grows black 

 currants, it must not be flooded, as where water lodges and the soil is saturated, they 

 will not flourish. Under such conditions drains must be provided open where con- 

 venient to prevent the water standing within 18 inches of the surface. The ground 

 should be stirred as deeply as the good soil allows, breaking up the bottom, and if poor, 

 and especially if light, a liberal amount of partially decayed manure should be mixed 

 with the top spit. Ground in good heart will grow black currants well for years without 

 manure, if they are not roughly dug amongst with spades so as to destroy the surface 

 roots. 



Arrangement. Black currant bushes are frequently planted in a single row in borders 

 along the sides of paths, or next the boundaries of gardens, where they spread more and 

 produce greater crops of finer fruit than do bushes grown close together in quarters. 

 This suggests that they are seldom given room enough. A space of 5 feet must be 

 allowed between them, and in rich soil 6 feet is not too much. A foot greater distance 

 between the rows than the bushes are in them is distinctly advantageous, both as regards 

 cropping and facilitating cultural operations. Nothing is gained by unduly crowding 

 black currants but a thicket of fruitless growths. 



Planting. The best time to move black currants is directly the leaves have fallen, 

 as the earlier they are planted the sooner they become established, and the better they will 

 bear. They may, however, be safely transplanted during mild weather from November 

 to February inclusive. A multitudinous number of fibrelets form under favouring 

 conditions in advance of top growth. Early planting insures free rooting and good 



VOL. II. X 



