156 FRUIT GARDEN. 



SMALL FRUITS. 



The Red, White, and Black Currant, the Gooseberry, 

 the Kaspberrj, the Strawberry, and Cranberry, are 

 usually cultivated in English gardens, under the title of 

 Small Fruits. Their economical uses in cookery, con- 

 fectionery, and in the manufacture of home-made wines, 

 attach to them considerable importance, and render de- 

 sirable a separate account of them, however brief. 



The Rihes ruhrumy Lin., includes as its varieties the 

 Red and White Currants. The principal subvarieties 

 are: 



Common Red. Champagne. 



Red Dutch. . Common White. 



Knight's Sweet Red. Dutch White. 



Red and white currants are readily propagated by 

 cuttings. They succeed in any sort of common garden 

 soil ; but seem to thrive best in w^arm, moist situations, 

 where they enjoy an abundance of air. A few plants 

 are sometimes placed against walls, on which they are 

 trained perpendicularly. Currants are sometimes planted 

 in single lines in the, borders which separate the plots in 

 the kitchen garden ; but it is generally better to confine 

 them to compartments by themselves. In these they 

 should hjd arranged in quincunx order, at six feet be- 

 tween the lines, and six feet apart in the line. They 

 may be transplanted at any time between the fall of the 

 leaf and the first movement of the sap. They are train- 

 ed as bushes, from single stems of about a foot in height, 

 care being taken to prevent the main branches from 

 crossing each other. In winter, the young bearing 

 wood on the sides of the branches is shortened down 



