THE CUREANT. 147 



larger pots, with good, rich compost. In one season they 

 will make good, strong plants. Plenty of air should 

 always be given them, as soon as they are rooted, to 

 prevent their being drawn up into wxak, watery shoots. 

 When the native hardy sorts are raised from eyes in the 

 hotbed as described, the yearling plants should be pruned 

 to a couple of eyes, and transplanted into nursery rows, 

 where one season's growth will fit them for final setting. 



Single eyes^ in all cases, make the best plants. 



2d. TJie Currant. — Every one knows how to propagat<5 

 this. A yearling shoot, six inches to a foot long, taken 

 off close to the old wood, and planted half or two thirds 

 its length in the ground, in the spring, will make a 

 strong, well-rooted j)lant in the autumn. To j)revent 

 shoots from springing up below the surface of the ground, 

 the eyes on that j)art are cut out, or they may be left the 

 first season, and cut out when the plants are rooted. 



The buds aid in the formation of roots. "When a 

 variety is rare and scarce, the young shoots may all be 

 layered in July, and they will make well-rooted plants in 

 the fall. 



3d. Gooseberries are propagated in the same way, and 

 with almost equal facility, as currants, though, as a gene- 

 ral thing, they do not grow with such rapidity. Layers 

 are the surest, but they require to be one year in the 

 nursery rows after being separated from the mother plant 

 to make them strong enough for the final planting. An 

 inch or two of swamp moss laid over the surface of the 

 ground in which layers are made, assists in retaining the 

 moisture. This is applicable to all kinds of layers. 



4th. Straioberries are propagated by the runners, which 

 spread on the sm-face of the ground in all directions from 

 the plant as soon as it begins to grow in the spring. 

 Where a variety is scarce, and it is desirable to multiply 

 it carefully, these runners should be sunk slightly in tliQ 



