152 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



trifling added expense, where no other crop can be profitably 

 produced. Many who feel inclined to engage in the cultiva- 

 tion of the apple and pear are deterred from doing so on 

 account of the time that must necessarily elapse after the 

 setting of the trees before a remunerative crop will be 

 produced. While all the small fruits may be successfully 

 and profitably grown in the early years of the pear and 

 apple orchard, the currant will continue to thrive for many 

 years, and to compete, often successfully, with the larger 

 fruits in its pecuniary returns after the latter pay an income 

 above expense for cultivation and interest on the invest- 

 ment. 



One firm engaged in market gardening and fruit growing 

 sold in the Boston market last year eleven tons of currants, 

 grown in a pear orchard where the trees had attained the 

 usual size, and from which a full crop of pears was picked 

 the same season. 



Of varieties, the red currant being principally in demand, 

 the Versaillaise or Cherry, generally believed to be one and 

 the same variety, is generally used ; but the season of ripen- 

 ing may be extended three or four weeks by setting a por- 

 tion of the Victoria variety ; of this the fruit is smaller than 

 the Versaillaise, but it is a profuse bearer and the most de- 

 sirable of the late varieties. Of the comparatively small 

 portion of white required, the Dana's Transparent, a native 

 of this State, is generally preferred. 



The currant frequently sufiers from drought at the most 

 critical time of its growth, just before changing its color. 

 This may be prevented by mulching the ground around the 

 bushes, but the mulch should be removed as soon as the 

 fruit is picked, to prevent the roots being drawn to the sur- 

 face. There are two methods of pruning the currant, 

 first by cutting back a portion of the new growth, and 

 second, by cutting out every year a portion of the old wood ; 

 by the former method the stools become larger and produce 

 a larger quantity of fruit, by the latter the fruit is borne 

 upon young wood and is of superior quality. 



The very small additional expense with which the currant 

 may be grown makes it one of the most profitable of the 

 small fruits. 



