190 



GROSSULARIEjE. I. RIDES. 



ing ; calyx campanulate ; petals longer than the calyx. ^ . H. 

 Native of Nipaul, on Emodi and Gosaingsthan. Flowers white. 

 Berries black. 



Icy Currant. Fl. April, May. Clt. 1823. Sh. 4 to 6 feet. 

 55 R. NIGRUM (Lin. spec. 291.) leaves dotted from glands be- 

 neath, 3-5-lobed ; racemes loose ; bracteas minute, subulate or 

 obtuse, much shorter than the pedicels ; petals oblong ; calyx 

 campanulate, with reflexed segments. I? . H. Native of Europe 

 and Siberia, in woods ; plentiful in some parts of Britain about the 

 banks of rivers, in the north of England and in Scotland. Berl. 

 1. c. t. 2. f. 21. Woodv. med. bot. t. 75. Fl. dan. 556. Blackw. 

 285. Smith, engl. bot. 1291. R. olidum, Mcench. meth. 683. 

 Flowers whitish green ; calyx often of a rich brownish red- 

 colour. Stamens sometimes more than 5, and there are fewer 

 petals ; so that when there are 10 stamens, there are no petals ; 

 this change of petals into stamens is just the reverse of the pro- 

 cess by which single flowers become double ; but it is the only 

 fact of the kind which has hitherto been observed. Stigmas bifid. 

 Berries globose, black, glandular. The black currant is a shrub 

 with smoothish branches, strong smelling leaves, with a solitary 

 1 -flowered pedicel at the base of each raceme. The flowers 

 appear in April, and the fruit ripens in June and July, and 

 changes from a green to a black colour. It is a native of most 

 parts of Europe, especially the more northern parts. It abounds 

 in the woods in the north of Russia, and the subalpine regions 

 of Siberia, where the branches and berries are very large, and 

 sapid. In Britain it is found in wet hedges, on the banks of 

 rivers, in alder swamps, and sometimes in woods. 



Use. The fruit, which has a peculiar flavour, and disliked by 

 some, is seldom brought to the dessert ; but it is eaten in pud- 

 dings and tarts, and made into jellies and wines. The Russians 

 put the berries into brandy, and the Irish into whisky, in the 

 same way as the English put cherries : the Russians also ferment 

 the juice with honey, and so form a strong and palateable wine. 

 Many cottagers, who cannot afford to mix green tea with black, 

 substitute one or two dried leaves of the black currant, the 

 flavour produced by which few are so acute as to distinguish 

 from that of the mixture of green and black tea. 

 The varieties are as follow : 



1 Wild black. 2 Black grape, Ogder's black grape. 3 Black 

 Naples, Cassis of the French ; this is one of the best of black 

 currants. 4 Green-fruited black; fruit of a dingy colour, of no 

 value. 5 Russian green. 



Propagation. By cuttings. See gooseberry. 

 Soil and site. A moist soft soil, and shady situation ; such as 

 is afforded by borders of north exposure is preferable. Miller 

 says, " the fruit is always best when the plants are placed in an 

 open situation, in light loamy soil." 



Final planting. As only a few plants are in general required 

 for private gardens, these may be placed at the distance recom- 

 mended for gooseberries, in the margin of a shady border, or 

 against a wall of a north exposure. Mr. Neill says, it produces 

 most fruit as a standard, but the largest berries when trained to 

 a wall. 



Mode of bearing. The black currant bears chiefly on the 

 shoots of the preceding year, and also from snags and spurs, 

 which, however, are less abundant, and of smaller size in the 

 black currant than in the gooseberry or red currant. 



Insects and diseases. The black currant is seldom attacked 

 by insects, though, like the elder tree, it has its own variegated 

 caterpillar, which sometimes reduces it to a state of complete 

 nudity. 



Gathering the fruit. See red currant. 



Forcing. The black currant may be forced in pots like the 

 gooseberry. In Russia this is often done for the sake of the 

 fragrance of the leaves. 



Black Currant. Fl. April. Britain. Shrub 4 to 6 feet. 



56 R. BIEBERSTEINII (Berl. mss. ex D. C. prod. 3. p. 482.) 

 leaves cordate, acutely 3-5-lobed, sharply and doubly serrated, 

 rather pilose above, and villously tomentose beneath ; serratures 

 numerous ; racemes nodding ; petals minute. ^ . H. Native 

 of Caucasus. R. Caucasicum, Bieb. fl. taur. suppl. 160. but not 

 of Adams. Leaves having a strong scent like those of R. nlgrum. 

 Berries black. 



Bieberstein's Currant. Shrub 4 to 6 feet. 



57 R. HUDSONIA'NUM (Richards in Frankl. first, journ. ed. 2. 

 append, p. 6.) branches erect ; leaves 3-lobed, quite glabrous 

 above, full of resinous dots beneath, and are, as well as the pe- 

 tioles, villous ; germens dotted ; berries globose, glabrous, 

 black ; racemes erect, pubescent ; bracteas short ; segments of 

 the calyx, which is campanulate, spreading. ^ . H. Native of 



, North America, from Hudson's Bay to the Rocky Mountains, in 

 the west, and as far north as lat. 57. Flowers small ; petals 

 white. The fruit, and peculiar odour of the plant, are that of R. 

 ntgrum. 



Var. ft ; racemes longer ; calyx smoothish. T? . H. Native 

 of the north-west coast of America, on the mountains of the 

 Columbia, about the Kettle Falls. R. petiolare, Doug, in hort. 

 trans. 7. p. 514. 



Hudson's Bay Currant. Shrub 3 to 4 feet. 



58 R. FLORIDUM (Lher. stirp. 1. p. 4.) leaves full of resinous 

 glands, 3 or 5-lobed, cordate, double-serrated ; racemes pendu- 

 lous, pubescent ; bracteas linear, longer than the pedicels ; calyx 

 tubularly campanulate, glabrous : with the segments obtuse, ami 

 at length reflexed ; germens and black berries oval-globose, gla- 

 brous, fy . H. Native throughout Canada ; and of Pennsyl- 

 vania. Berl. 1. c. t. 2. f. 22. R. nlgrum /3, Lin. spec. 291. R. 

 Pennsylvanicum, Lam. diet. 3. p. 49. R. recurvatum, Michx. fl. 

 bor. amer. 1. p. 109. according to Torrey. Ribesium nlgrum, 

 &c. Dill. elth. 2. t. 244. f. 315. This is in many respects allied 

 to R, mgrum, but its more copious, denser flowers, and espe- 

 cially the long bracteas, and more tubular calyx, will always dis- 

 tinguish it ; the solitary pedicel too at the base of the flowers is 

 wanting in this species. Petals oblong, rather erose at the apex. 



Flowering Currant. Fl. April, May. Clt. 1729. Sh. 4 to 6 ft. 



59 R. INE'BRIANS (Lindl. in bot. reg. 1471.) leaves roundish, 

 deeply 3-5-lobed, and deeply toothed, truncate at the base, 

 glandular on both surfaces ; petioles pubescent; peduncles 3-5- 

 flowered, pendulous ; flowers aggregate ; calyx tubular, glandu- 

 lar, with the segments recurved. I? H. Native of North 

 America. Calyx greenish white, with the tube 4 lines long. 

 Leaves smelling like those of R. fioridum. The species was 

 received from Mr. Floy of New York, under the name of in- 

 toxicating currant, but without any account of its quality. The 

 berries probably possess some narcotic quality. 



Intoxicating Currant. Clt. 1827. Fl. April. Shrub 3 to 4 ft. 



60 R. CE'REUM (Dougl. in hort. trans. 7. p. 512. bot. reg. 

 1263. Hook. fl. bor. amer. 1. p. 234.) leaves small, cordate, 

 lobed, serrated, clothed with glandular pubescence, glabrous, 

 glaucous, full of white glands above ; racemes pendulous, rather 

 capitate ; bracteas ovate, adpressed to the germens, which are 

 glabrous ; flowers nearly sessile, cylindrical, rather angular ; 

 calycine segments small, reflexed. J? . H. Native of North- 

 west America, on the banks of the Columbia, and its southern 

 tributary streams, from the Great Falls to the Rocky Mountains, 

 in gravelly or sandy soil. In the small foliage, and few-flow- 

 ered racemes, this species resembles the gooseberry tribe, but 

 without any thorns. The flowers are rather large and white, 

 with a slight tinge of green, rather downy. White waxy dots 

 like scales cover the upper surface of the leaf, whence the speci- 

 fic name. 



Waxy-leaved Currant. Fl. April. Clt. 1827. Shrub 2 to 3 ft. 



8 



