Encyclopaedia of Gardening 145 



not confuse the garden and the grocer's Currants. The former are 

 true Currants, the latter are Grapes, and belong to a different genus. 

 Black and red and in a less degree white Currants are very use- 

 ful garden fruits, for they are excellent stewed, make delicious 

 jellies, and are not entirely negligible for eating raw. The black 

 Currant is easily grown in any fairly deep, fertile soil; it does not 

 care for poor, dry, shallow ground. The large modern varieties are 

 vigorous growers, and should be planted at least 6 ft. apart; 8 ft. 

 is not too much. They may be planted, with other fruit, from 

 November to March inclusive, either in a quarter to themselves, or 

 among large trees, such as standard and half-standard Apples and 

 Plums ; but they should not be put close to the stems of the latter, 

 or both fruits will surfer by robbing each other of the food in the 

 soil. Propagation : Currants are not put on to stocks, like Apples, 

 Pears, Cherries, and Plums, but are struck from cuttings of the 

 same year's wood, taken about a foot long, and inserted firmly in 

 September. The following year the young shoots are cut back to 

 about 3 ins. long, and a year later shortened one-half. This makes 

 bushes of them by encouraging them to form side branches. The 

 growths may be left to extend, and any sucker shoots which come 

 up from the roots may also be retained. Thereafter pruning will 

 merely consist in thinning out old wood which has fruited; but a 

 black Currant must never be cleared of young wood, because that 

 bears the best fruit. This most useful fruit is unfortunately harassed 

 by a destructive enemy in the form of a mite (Eriophyes ribis), 

 which gets into the heart of the buds, feeds on the substance, and 

 kills the trees. Its presence may be known by the buds becoming 

 swollen and rounded. The best remedy is to cut out and burn any 

 affected shoots directly they are noticed, and to dust the trees 

 at the end of March with 2 parts flowers of sulphur and i part 

 freshly slacked lime, repeating at the middle of April and the begin- 

 ning of May. This should be done while the trees are damp with 

 dew. Boskoop Giant and Baldwin's are two good varieties. The 

 red Currant is little, if any, less useful than the black, and as it 

 grows in closer form, and bears on the old wood, it needs less room, 

 while yielding quite as heavily. It is a most useful fruit, and will 

 grow in most soils, unless they are either very poor, shallow, and 

 dry, or very stiff and wet. The bushes are raised from cuttings the 

 same as blacks, except that it is customary to prevent sucker growth 

 from the base by removing the buds on the lower half of the cutting 

 and also for 3 or 4 ins. above the ground so as to allow of a clean 

 stem. The early pruning should be the same, but the later pruning 

 should differ in shortening the young wood, which should be done 

 annually, preferably in summer. The red Currant is not subject 

 to the mite which works such havoc with the black, and is generally 

 a very healthy plant. Red 'Dutch and Fay's Prolific are good 

 varieties. White Versailles is a useful Currant, and requires 

 just the same treatment as the red varieties. 



Damson and Bullace (Prunus insititia). The Damson is one of 

 the hardiest and toughest of fruits, and on that account is often put 

 on the outside of plantations, in order to serve as a wind-break and 

 to protect more valuable trees. The fruit is useful for stewing, and 



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