CURRANTS. 147 



long been an inmate of the woods of England, in which it 

 grows to a great size ; but it seldom ripens its fruit in the 

 northern parts of the island. Several varieties, remarka- 

 ble for their productiveness and early bearing, have of late 

 years risen into notice ; particularly Knight's Prolific, the 

 New Prolific, and the Devonshire. These are propagated 

 by grafting upon stocks raised from nuts ; and when grafts 

 are taken from bearing wood, fruit may be produced in a 

 couple of years. The tree thrives best on a dry subsoil. 



This tree is by no means so extensively cultivated in the 

 United States as it deserves to be. The wild chestnuts of 

 the forests are very abundant and very sweet. But they 

 are far surpassed in size by the varieties brought from Eu- 

 rope, the product of which bear a very high pric.e in the 

 markets of American cities. They are readily propagated 

 from seed of excellent quality, but the most select varieties 

 must be procured through grafting and budding. Some 

 English catalogues contain 30 or 40 varieties of cultivated 

 chestnuts. The American Chinquapin is a very small spe- 

 cies of chestnut, not flattened but rounded, and terminating 

 at one extremity in a point. It is very common in the 

 woods of the Southern States, and southern portions of 

 some of the Middle States, growing about 20 to 30 feet in 

 height. The Chinquapin is very sweet and agreeable to 

 the taste, and deserves cultivation, selling well in the 

 market. * 



SMALL FRUITS. 



The Ked, White, and Black Currant, the Q-ooseberry, 

 the Raspberry, the Strawberry, and Cranberry, are usually 

 cultivated in English gardens, under the title of Small 

 Fruits. Their economical uses in cookery, confectionery, 



