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The currant may easily be grown from seeds ; but this is not 

 advisable, except for the purpose of obtaining new and better 

 varieties. There is a wide field for improvement in this direc- 

 tion. A large per cent, of seedlings will be inferior to the old 

 standard varieties, but this should not deter us from making an 

 effort for something better. Some bushes will be found to pro- 

 duce finer fruit and more abundant crops every year than others 

 near by of the same variety, and seeds should always be selected 

 from the best bunches of fruit produced by these plants. Wash 

 out the seeds when perfectly ripe, and pack them away in a cool 

 place, treating them the same as any small vegetable or flower 

 seeds should be treated. Sow them in spring as soon as the 

 ground is in suitable condition, cover about half an inch deep, 

 and make the soil over them firm with the back of a spade. 

 When the seeds have been kept diy for several months, they will 

 vegetate sooner if soaked in tepid water for forty-eight hours 

 before planting. The seeds may be mixed with sand as soon as 

 washed out, and placed in pots or boxes and buried in some 

 cool shady place. They should be allowed to remain frozen up 

 until the proper time for planting out in spring. The young 

 seedlings should be carefully cultivated, and transplanted the 

 second year into trial beds for testing their value. 



GOOSEBERRIES. 



(Ribes grossularia. ) 



Having given pretty full directions for growing the currant, it 

 will be unnecessary to say much under this head, as the condi- 

 tions required for the successful cultivation of the one apply 

 with equal force to the other. They both thrive in a strong, 

 rather moist soil, and in a cool, half-shady location. Both 

 demand a liberal application of manure, and protection from 

 the same insect enemies. 



The gooseberry is not as easily propagated as the currant, in- 

 asmuch as the cuttings do not strike root with the same facil- 

 ity. For this reason the plants are usually increased by layers. 

 Layering consists simply in bending down and covering the 



