306 



COMMON BLACK 



DESERET 



Bushes large, vigorous, spreading, productive ; canes 

 numerous, rather slender. Leaves large, dull green, 

 pubescent, resinous on the under side ; margins hairy, 

 coarsely serrate. Flowers late. Fruit late ; clusters 

 rather short, loose, tips well filled ; berries 6-10, cling 

 well, medium to large, round, black ; skin opaque, 

 glandular, thin ; flesh firm, rather dry, yellowish, tinged 

 red at the skin, sprightly, rich, aromatic ; quality very 

 good ; seeds small, numerous. 



COMMON BLACK. Black English. This 

 is an old black currant now little grown, al- 

 though listed in several catalogs. It is probable 



that three or four 

 varieties are sent 

 out under this 

 name. At the State 

 Experiment Sta- 

 tion, Geneva, New 

 York, the bushes 

 are of spreading 

 habit, vigorous, and 



E reductive, and 

 ear fruits of me- 

 dium size, which 

 are rather too acid, 

 too strongly - fla- 

 vored, and ripen 

 too unevenly to be 

 desirable. 



NAPLES. Fig. 

 269. Black Naples. 

 An old variety, 

 long a standard in 

 Europe, Naples is 

 being discarded 

 abroad, but is still 

 one of the com- 

 269. Naples. (X%) monest black cur- 



rants in America. 



It should give way to better sorts on this side 

 of the Atlantic, as the fruits are exceedingly 



variable in size, the clusters small, and the 

 flavor rather too strong to be pleasant. It is 

 mentioned by Kenrick as a new importation 

 to America in 1832. 



Plants large, very dense, vigorous, rather unproduc- 

 tive. Leaves rather large, light green, appearing very 

 early. Flowers very late, strong disagreeable odor. 

 Fruit latest of all black currants ; clusters short, 4-10 

 berries, tips well filled ; berries small to large, variable, 

 round, black ; pedicel with one or two bracts where 

 attached to berry ; skin glandular, thick, tough ; flesh 

 greenish, juicy, tart, strongly flavored, aromatic ; quality 

 fair ; seeds small, numerous. 



VARIETIES OF GOLDEN CURRANTS 



CRANDALL. Crandall is the sole repre- 

 sentative of R. odoratum widely distributed 

 throughout the country, being a familiar in- 

 habitant of dooryards and parks as an orna- 

 mental. The tough skin and unpleasant flavor 

 condemn it as a garden plant. The variety is 

 often sold under the name Flowering Currant. 

 There is said to be a productive strain on the 

 market. 



Plant 8 feet in height, very vigorous, hardy, unpro- 

 ductive. Leaves roundish cordate, 3 inches broad, thin, 

 pubescent on both surfaces ; margins coarsely serrate ; 

 petiole short, slender. Flowers late, yellow, few ; 

 pedicels short, pubescent, green. Fruits borne in clus- 

 ters of 1-5, drop when ripe, Vz inch in diameter, round- 

 oblate, black, glossy, smooth ; flesh greenish-yellow, 

 rather dry, sprightly, very aromatic ; quality fair ; seeds 

 many. 



DESERET. Deseret, Golden, and Jelly are 

 other named sorts of the golden currant which 

 occasionally appear in catalogs from the Mid- 

 dle West and Rocky Mountain regions, where 

 the Europeans grow but poorly or not at all. 

 No one of the three is as worthy of cultivation 

 as Crandall. They are most commonly grown 

 in Utah, and probably originated in that state. 



