KNIGHT'S LARGE RED 



RED CROSS 



303 



or identical with Prince Albert, and it is pos- 

 sibly that old sort renamed. Its history is not 

 known. 



KNIGHT'S LARGE RED. Knight's Im- 

 proved. Pomona. Knight's Large Red, 

 Knight's Improved, and Pomona are hope- 

 lessly confused. The three names are inter- 

 changed for the same variety, and at least a 

 half-dozen distinct currants bear the names. 

 It is now impossible to select the true type. 

 There are better currants than any that pass 

 under these names. 



LONDON MARKET. Scotch. London 

 Market is considered the best red currant in 

 many parts of the Middle West. Its chief 

 commendatory characters are ability to with- 

 stand hot, dry weather, and resistance to 

 currant borers and currant diseases. It is said 

 to be also the most resistant of all red currants 

 to the pine blister rust. At Geneva, New 

 York, however, the foliage is very susceptible 

 to the currant aphis. The history of the va- 

 riety is obscure; it is several times mentioned 

 as an English variety imported in 1878. It is 

 possibly the Scotch of Great Britain. 



Plants tall, upright, vigorous, fairly productive. 

 Leaves small, thin, light green, late in opening, very 

 abundant. Flowers open in midseason. Fruit late ; 

 clusters long, medium compact, tips well filled, 12-20 

 berries ; berries of medium size, variable, round-oblate, 

 dark red ; flesh red, firm, juicy, sprightly ; quality 

 good ; seeds medium in number, large. 



MAGNUM BONUM. This variety on the 

 grounds of the New York Experiment Station, 

 Geneva, New York, is very similar to Ver- 

 sailles or identical with it. That the two are 

 alike or the same has been noted in other 

 plantations both in America and England. 

 While the variety was imported from England 

 as long ago as 1850, it is believed that the 

 currant at Geneva is the Magnum Bonum of 

 the original importation. 



NORTH STAR. This is a comparatively 

 unimportant currant, grown for about thirty 

 years, which is finding less and less favor. The 

 small size of the bunches and berries, both of 

 which are variable in size, and the indifferent 

 quality of the fruit are against it. The variety 

 is reported as rather widely grown in the 

 northern part of the Mississippi Valley. It 

 was introduced by the Jewell Nursery Com- 

 pany, Lake City, Minnesota, about 1885. 



Plants large, vigorous, rather spreading, dense, me- 

 dium productive ; suckers numerous. Leaves very early, 

 large, dark green, rugose ; margins nearly serrate ; 

 petiole short. Flowers early. Fruit very early ; clusters 

 medium in length, poorly filled, loose ; stems and 

 pedicels long ; berries small, cling well, round, red ; 

 skin smooth, thin, translucent ; flesh red, juicy, fine- 

 grained, sprightly ; quality very good ; seeds few, me- 

 dium in size. 



PALLUAU. Fertile de Palluau. This va- 

 riety, offered by several western nurserymen 

 as especially desirable for dry, hot climates, is 

 probably Red Dutch; if not identical, the two 

 are so similar that the description of Red 



Dutch answers for Palluau. The variety is 

 supposed to have come to the United States 

 from France in the middle of the last century. 



PERFECTION. Fig. 263. Although Per- 

 fection is a new currant it is well known and 

 is being disseminated rapidly in New York and 

 parts of the Northwest. 

 The outstanding charac- 

 ters of the plants are 

 vigor, hardiness, health- 

 fulness, and productive- 

 ness; of the fruit, large 

 clusters of uniformly 

 large berries borne on a 

 long stem, so that pick- 

 ing is easy. The berries 

 are bright, clear red, and 

 are as pleasing in flavor 

 as those of any other 

 variety, and superior to 

 those of most other cur- 

 rants. The fruit is borne 

 on the old wood in a 

 manner peculiar to the 

 variety. Perfection orig- 

 inated with Charles G. 

 Hooker, Rochester, New 

 York, in 1887. 



Plants large, vigorous, up- 

 right-spreading, hardy, pro- 

 ductive, healthy ; branches 

 stocky, smooth, long, straight, 

 numerous, brownish, dull and 

 with little red; foliage deep 

 green, healthy ; season of 



bloom early. Fruit midseason ; very easily picked, ships 

 well ; clusters long, compact, cylindrical, slightly taper- 

 ing ; stems long, of medium thickness ; pedicels short, 

 thick ; berries roundish, uniformly large, cling well to 

 the pedicels, bright handsome red ; skin thin but tough ; 

 flesh juicy, tender, sprightly subacid ; quality good ; 

 seeds intermediate in size and number. 



PRINCE ALBERT. Rivers' Late Red. 

 Prince Albert is an old European currant 

 grown under many names, but best known by 

 English-speaking peoples under the two here 

 given. Wherever known, it is valued for its 

 very late fruits, which are of large size, have 

 thin skins and a most pleasing piquancy of 

 flavor. The bushes are vigorous and upright, 

 but only moderately productive. The fruit is 

 well liked by canners and in the home for 

 preserves and jellies. The variety is one of 

 the latest to flower as well as to ripen its 

 fruits. 



Plants large, vigorous, upright-spreading, very dense, 

 medium productive ; suckers of medium number ; canes 

 tall, rather slender ; young shoots tinged red. Leaves 

 cordate, taper-pointed, dull green, very rugose ; held 

 stiffly upright ; petiole 3 inches long, pubescent ; flowers 

 late. Fruit very late ; clusters long, well-filled ; stems 

 and pedicels short ; berries cling well, of medium size, 

 round-oblate, bright red ; skin thin, smooth, tough, 

 translucent ; texture firm, juicy ; flavor sour, highly 

 flavored ; quality good for dessert purposes ; seeds of 

 medium size, numerous. 



RED CROSS. This variety is hardly above 

 the ordinary, and is excelled by several others 

 of the large-fruited currants. Moreover, in 

 the Hudson River Valley, where it was at one 

 time rather largely planted, the berries crack 



