APPENDIX. 145 



You also tell me you mean to add some directions 

 about the culture of currants, gooseberries, and other 

 small fruits, as well as the grape. These things should 

 be better grown than they generally are. Gooseberries 

 and currants are usually seen as a mass of half-decayed 

 branches, without form or sightliness. It is next to 

 impossible to bring these into shape, or develop their 

 maximum productiveness. It is better to begin anew. 

 Procure plants struck from cuttings ; grow them with 

 a clean stalk not less than six inches in height ; prune 

 them every winter, keeping the heads well open, and 

 shorten in last season's growth in the currant, but not 

 in the gooseberry. These fruits are generally planted 

 against the fence, or in some out-of-the-way corner, 

 just where they should not be. Give them an open 

 exposure, plenty of manure, and good culture, and you 

 will be amply rewarded. The Eed Dutch is best for 

 general purposes; but Knight's Sweet Keel, Cherry, 

 Prince Albert, White Grape, and others, may be added 

 where there is room. 



The raspberry and blackberry are also desirable in 

 a garden, furnishing a delicious fruit at an opportune 

 season. They both require a deep, rich soil. The 

 blackberry may be planted against an east fence, and 

 the raspberry against a west fence — about the best 

 places in a garden. The old wood of the raspberry 

 should be cut out after it has ceased bearing, and some 

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