Cultivation of the Currant. 19 



these develop into a bearing bush, keeping the top properly thinned, and 

 whenever one loses its vigor, cut it out, and replace it with a new shoot 

 trained up from the bottom ; thus obtaining constant-bearing bushes with- 

 out the trouble of wholly renewing the plantation. 



Currants are wholly propagated by cuttings of good, sound, one-year-old 

 wood, from six to twelve inches in length. If plants with clean stems are 

 wanted, the eyes or buds, with the exception of about three at the top, 

 should be removed ; not rubbed off, but cut out clean, so as to remove all 

 the latent eyes at their base, which would otherwise produce suckers ; but 

 if the plants are to be grown as bushes, this is unnecessary. The cuttings 

 being ready, a piece of ground (any good soil will answer, but if moist and 

 rich it will be better) should be dug deeply and fine, and the cuttings stuck 

 down about two-thirds of their length, in straight rows about fifteen inches 

 apart, and three or four inches apart in the rows. If mulched with spent tan, 

 as they should be to retain the moisture of the ground, hardly a cutting will 

 fail j and they will need little or no care in weeding, or, indeed, in any way, 

 until they are ready to plant in their final situations. The cuttings can be 

 stuck down more easily if cut square at the base with pruning-shears than 

 if slanted with a knife. They may be taken off and planted early in autumn, 

 with a mulch to protect them during the winter, or they may be heeled-in tem- 

 porarily, and planted in spring. Or, if more convenient, they may be taken 

 off early in spring, and prepared in the house on a rainy day, and then placed 

 in a cool cellar until the ground is ready for planting. In a rich soil, they 

 will be large enough to transplant in one year ; but if not sufficiently large, 

 they may remain in the nursery-bed two years. Four feet apart each way 

 is a good distance to plant the bushes. They may be set in autumn or 

 early in spring : if in autumn, the roots should be protected by mulching. 

 The best soil is a rich loam, rather heavy than light. It should be abun- 

 dantly manured with any good manure. If single stems, they ought to be 

 headed-down to the point at which it is desired that they should branch, which 

 need not be more than eight inches from the ground. If already branched, 

 the shoots may be shortened to about the same length, observing to cut to 

 an outside bud. From three to six branches may be allowed the first year, 

 and double the number the second year, A few fruit-buds are produced 

 at the base of the last year's wood ; but most of the fruit is borne on spurs 



