No. 4.] SOIL IN FKUIT CULTURE. 77 



them to vigorous stock, grow apples that cannot be profit- 

 ably grown in any other way. 



Just one more illustration, and I Avill bring my discussion 

 to a close. 



For several years I have been much interested in growing 

 currants. I began upon the same line a number of years 

 ago for the development of a more prolific type of currant. 

 I found in New York State that the average yield does not 

 exceed 3 quarts to the bush ; but in my plantation I ob- 

 served, as the pickers came in with their trays of fruit, that 

 there was a diiference in the size of the currants from the 

 different bushes. Observing this dift'erence in the size of 

 the currants, I have gone back to the bush from which they 

 came, and I found invariably that those large, magnificent 

 clusters came from l)ushcs which were large ^adders. A 

 stake was driven doAvn and the bush marked, and cuttings 

 from the bush were taken. The foreman was instructed that 

 when a very fine specimen came in, some one must be de- 

 spatched to where it came from , to mark the bush and later 

 take cuttino's from it. 



This illustration on the chart was taken from a bush bear- 

 ing fruit of this character. Just on the opposite side, in a 

 roAV only 5 feet distant from it, stood a bush of this char- 

 acter ; upon the entire bush there was just one stem, set 

 with one very lonely currant upon it, — that is all the fruit 

 there was upon the bush. Now, suppose we should go right 

 through, as is the general practice, and take cuttings irre- 

 spective of the character of the bush. If we took cuttings 

 from this type, you can see at once the disappointment that 

 would follow in the probable yield ; whereas, if we took cut- 

 tings from this plant, we may increase the yield per bush 

 from 3 quarts to li), as in this instance. The bush from 

 which this illustration was taken produced 16 quarts of cur- 

 rants, and it is from this type that we propagate. 



Question. What variety? 



Mr. Powell. These are Fay's Prolific. You can get the 

 same results with other varieties. 



Owners of land must each work out for themselves these 

 problems, of which there are many. They are so full of 



