192 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



may occasionally be headed in, particularly if the plants be 

 young, but heading in ought not to be often necessary. 

 The plantation should be removed or renewed as soon as 

 vigor wanes, which is usually at ten or twelve years, de- 

 pending upon variety, soil and treatment. 



Harvesting. 

 There are several essentials to harvesting currants for 

 market purposes. Chief of these are that the fruit must be 

 dry when picked, not too ripe but hard and firm, and that 

 the clusters be intact. So picked the fruit stands ship- 

 ment well even to distant markets, but if the items named 

 be overlooked the product often quickly spoils even in send- 

 ing to near-by markets. Of course the nearer the market the 

 riper the fruit may be allowed to become. Fruit for jelly 

 should not be fully ripe. For home use picking can be de- 

 layed until the fruit is quite ripe, and may often be kept 

 on the plants until midsummer if the bushes be protected 

 from birds by covering with netting. Currants are commonly 

 marketed in quart baskets or in grape baskets. In the 

 former case they are shipped in crates holding 16 or 32 

 quarts. The 8-pound grape basket is now preferred in 

 many markets, and is the more convenient way of shipping, 

 both for the producer and the buyer. 



Profits. 

 Profits vary greatly, but year in and year out this fruit 

 gives very good returns, though in many cases the market 

 must be developed or vigorously sought for. While many 

 plantations do not yield more than 50 bushels to the acre, 

 crops of from 100 to 250 bushels per acre under good culture 

 are not uncommon. Unfortunately, the price fluctuates 

 rather more than for most other fruits, and the small local 

 markets are usually supphed from home gardens. Canning 

 and jelly factories use this fruit in large quantities, and 

 commercial growers ought to know before planting that they 

 have an outlet for the sale of a part of their crop for canning 

 or jelly. A fair average of the price paid for currants at the 

 factory would be 5 cents a pound. 



