190 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



100 to 200 pounds per acre increases productiveness and adds 

 quality to the fruit. Probably, however, the fertilizer re- 

 quirements of the plant are best determined by individual 

 experiments with potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen. 



Propagation. 



Since the currant is easily propagated, growers of this 

 fruit can often raise their own plants advantageously, the 

 process being as follows: as soon as the leaves fall in the 

 autumn make hardwood cuttings varying in length from 6 

 to 10 inches. In dry climates and in hght soils the longer 

 length is preferable, while in moist and rich soils the shorter 

 length will suffice. The cuttings may be put in the ground 

 as soon as made or, and perhaps better, they should be tied 

 in bundles and buried butt end up in moist sand until spring. 

 When the planting season arrives, which should be as early 

 as possible in the spring, the cuttings are set from 4 to 6 

 inches apart rather deeply in the soil, leaving one or two 

 buds above the surface with the earth pressed firmly about 

 the butts. If fall planting is preferred the cuttings are 

 thought to root rather more quickly and better if packed in 

 damp moss for a week or two before planting. Fall set 

 cuttings must always be mulched during the winter. The 

 cuttings will start in almost any soil, but do somewhat better 

 in a rich, moist one. The following fall these cuttings should 

 be set in nursery rows, the plants being 8 to 10 inches apart, 

 and the rows 3 feet. Here they should be left one or two 

 years and kept cultivated. 



Planting. 

 Either one or two year old plants may be used in starting 

 a plantation, but, all things considered, the two-year-old 

 plants are the better. The commonest distance apart is 

 6 by 4 feet, though the tendency is to give greater distance 

 in the row, which permits cultivation both ways. Since the 

 plants form a comparatively permanent plantation the land 

 should be well drained, and in the best possible tilth at 

 setting time. The transplanting is quickly and cheaply done 

 by marking both ways and plowing a deep furrow one way 



