354 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



.siuli an extent that it is a very iiardy and reliable sort, })ro- 

 ducing fruit of fair size and excellent quality. Some of the 

 newer sorts promise well, and may, in time, take the place 

 of this well-tried variety. Among these. Pearl is a proniis- 

 ino^ one with us. 



I know of no experiments to determine the desirability of 

 interpoUination among currants and gooseberries. It is a 

 fact, however, that many blossoms fail to set fruit, and it 

 may be possi))le that interchange of pollen would prove ben- 

 eficial. This failure to set fruit is frec^uently noticeable with 

 the currant in short clusters, the end blossoms having foiled 



to set. 



MetJiods of Pvopafiation. 



Currants are among the most easily propagated of all our 

 fruits which demand any attention at all in this regard. Cur- 

 rant cuttings will grow under almost any method of treatment. 

 To propagate a few for home use, as simple a way as any is 

 to make cuttings of the one-year-old wood early in spring, 

 and plant them directly in the soil. If done ])ef()re growth 

 starts, which nmst be early, a large proportion of them will 

 root and form plants. 



In more extensive planting the cuttings are usually made 

 in the fall, as soon as the leaves drop, or even earlier, usuall)' 

 about the first of September. The cuttings are made six or 

 eight inches long, and may be planted at once or tied \\\) in 

 bundles and buried, l)ott()m upward, just beneath the surface 

 of the ground. In this condition they will readily callous at 

 the base, and may be taken up and i)lanted later. When 

 })lanted they should be set with only an inch or so of the tip 

 above the ground, and be covered with a nmlch during the 

 winter. C^uttings taken at any time- during the winter and 

 buried in moist moss, earth or sawdust in a cellar will be in 

 good condition for j)lanting early in si)ring. 



Gooseberries do not root so readily from cuttings as do 

 currants, though with proper care there is little trouble in 

 propagating the American varieties in this way. Probably 

 one of the best ways is to take the cuttings in the fall or 

 early winter and keep them in the cellar, as suggested for 

 currants, until planting time, though they may be planted 

 out in autunm in the same manner as currants. 



