39 



The annual cost of cultivation of red 

 currants per acre was approximately as 

 follows (pre-war) : — 



£ s. d. 



(November) Pruning 12 



Clearing cuttings 5 



Digging with fork 10 



(April to September) Hand hoeing four 



times 18 



(August) Picking 2 tons of red cur- 

 rants at 6d. per 241bs 4 13 4 



Packing 187 half bushels at 23. per 100 3 9 



Carriage, 16s. per ton 1 12 



Sale expenses, 4d. per half bushel ... 3 2 4 



Rent, rates, taxes 2 10 



Cost 



£15 16 5 



Receipt, 2 tons red currants at £10 

 10s £21 



Balance, to cover cost of planting 



superintendence, etc., and [)rofit ... £5 3 7 

 (These costs are increased by about 130 per 



cent, now ) 



/' ■/. 





**<2- 



Pruned Ked Cl'rr.vnt in a Worcestershire 

 Plantation. 



About twenty years ago the price of red 

 currants was so low that it did not repay 

 the cost of picking and carriage, and 

 consequently a great many acres were 

 grubbed during the following winter, but 

 since then the price has paid expenses, and 

 afforded a moderate remuneration. The 

 red currant is almost always grown as 

 a bush on a " leg " or main stem, with four 

 or five branches often forking at a short 

 distance into two. As the fruit buds are 

 formed close against the older wood, the 

 pruning consists in spur-pruning all the 

 young shoots, and shortening the leading 



shoot, leaving about one-third of its 

 length. The tendency is to grow red cur- 

 rants with longer boughs than formerly, 

 and thereby get more fruit. Eed currants 

 are usually planted 4i ft. to 5 ft. apart, 

 or perhaps a little wider on very good 

 soil. As with other bush fruits, the land 

 should be well manured before planting, 

 and other crops may be grown for one or 

 two years between the young currant 

 bushes, if care is taken in cultivating and 

 lifting the crop. In order to encourage 

 quick growth the plantation should be 

 frequently hoed. 



In pruning the bushes it is important 

 to cut nearly up to the buds to avoid leav- 

 ing lifeless snags, which harbour the 

 maggots of the Currant Clearwing Fly. 



The Black Currant. 



The black currant is a valuable fruit to 

 grow if one can keep it free of big bug 

 mite. The fruit sells at a higher price 

 than any of the hardy fruits, there being 

 many uses for it. The black currant crop 

 is unfortunately very susceptible to frost. 

 It grows best on land somewhat heavy, 

 rich and moist, and will thrive, though 

 partially shaded, in a mixed plantation. 



Unlike red currant bushes, which are 

 frequently grown on a "leg," the branches 

 of black currants should spring direct 

 from "the ground. In starting a planta- 

 tion it is best to plant two-year-old bushes 

 having strong and plentiful shoots and 

 plenty of fibrous roots, also to plant them 

 as early as possible in the autumn, in 

 buying young bushes it is of the utmost 

 importance to have them clear of big bud 

 mite (Phytoptus ribis) ; and a written 

 guarantee should be given that they are 

 clean. 



Black currants are now planted about 

 5 feet apart; before the big bud mite ap- 

 peared they used to be planted 6 ft. apart 

 on good land, but now it is important to 

 get the land quickly covered for fear of an 

 attack. Some growers plant them at 5 ft. 

 by 2i ft. or 6 ft. by 3 ft., which allows for 

 horse-hoeing both ways for one year, and 

 sometimes the second year. This close 

 planting allows also for pulling up 

 diseased bushes without making an appre- 

 ciable gap. 



It is said that the best results are ob- 

 tained in pruning as soon as possible after 



