104 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[July. 



It is best to have them iu rather a Sjhadcd sit- 

 uation, so that they will pot suffer from the heat 

 oi uoou-day. The applipatioo of a little water 

 at intervals will encourage the speedy forma' 

 tion of roots. lU; the second spring thereafter 

 remove the bushes to tlie spot in the garden 

 where they are to stancl permi;inently. They 

 are sometimes placed in the border, but more 

 commonly on the sides of the principa,! walks, 

 They will thrive ii\ almost every soil, although 

 they have a decided preference for one that iij 

 strong, rich, deep and somewhat moist. They 

 succeed well in a free, open exposure ; but to 

 secure their general health, a partially shaded 

 location is undoubtedly best. The gardener 

 should, however, have buslies in Vjoth situa- 

 tions, aii those having the full benefit of the 

 sun's rays will ripen their fruit earliest in the 

 .season, but it will be smaller and less delicately 

 flavored than that wluch has been perfected in 

 the shade. They are to be set out in rows, 

 four feet apart eacli way. 



It has become common of late years, to re- 

 commend training cuj'rant bushes in the shape 

 of trees, with the main .<Stems running up from 

 twelve to thirty-six inches ,high, before the 

 side shoots are pei'niitted to br,i^nch out. These 

 standards have a very respectable ai)pearance 

 and are rather more easily cultivated than the 

 shruT)S, where suckers are allowed to grow up 

 at will. But, Mr. Cole, a distinguished au- 

 thority on the subject, says that if they are 

 permitted to sucker moderately, under a regu- 

 lar system of pruning, they will be longer 

 lived and produce more abundantly than 

 where the whole notirishment of the top passes 

 through a single channel. 



Nevertheless, the shape of tlie bush is not of 

 as much importance as the other details of 

 management. A due regard to pruning is 

 very necessary to the production of fruit, 

 which is borne mostly by two-year-old wood. 

 In .some leisure hour of autumn or winter, all 

 the old and stmtcd branches .should be re- 

 moved and the shoots of the preceding year's 

 growth shortened some five or six inches. By 

 such a course the sap, uistead of being wasted 

 upon barren wood, is confined within a small 

 compass, and is permitted to form short, fer- 

 tile spurs. Care must be taken to prevent too 

 dense a growth ; the branches should be few, 

 spreading out widely, and not crossing or in- 

 terfering with one another, so as to admit the 

 sun and air to every leaf. 



When there is a convenient opportuiiity in 

 the latter part of summer, the soil ought to be 

 enriched by the addition of a little good ma- 

 mire dug in among the roots. Omitting this 

 until winter, or the following spring, has been 

 aptly compared to cramming an animal with 

 food just before it is slaughtered. The roots 

 require their food whilst they are getting in 

 readiness for the next summer's crop, and not 

 after their growth is suspended for the sea- 

 son. At all times of the year the soil should 

 be kept Ught and free of weeds, so that the 

 roots may have no cause to cOhiplain of inat- 

 tention on that score. Fruit of the vei-y finest 

 quality may be expected, attractivefor its size, 

 rich color and delicious flavor. It can Easily 

 be kept on the bushes until the middle of au- 

 tumn by covering it with mats, cloths or any- 

 thing to shield it from the sun. Should the 

 reader be disposed to think such particular 

 care in the cultivation of the currant unneces- 

 sary, we advise him to manage at least one 

 bush in the manner above described, while he 

 permits the remainder of the plantation to 

 take care of itself in tlie good old-fashioned 

 way ; and, if we mistake not, he \vih ere long 

 be convinced of the justice of our remarks. 

 The borer, which in some districts occasions a 

 good deal of injm-y, is produced by a bluc- 

 i)lack moth appearing about the middle of 

 June. Every stem that is alfected should be 

 burned. As a preventive, apply to the bushes, 

 before the season of the moth, lye or xjotasli- 

 Water, or some other oftensive M'ash. Various 

 insects and worms that are among the foliage 

 may be repelled by the application of lime, or 

 wiiale-oil soap suds. 



Use. — The reputation of the cm-rant has 

 long been established iis one of the most whole- 



some and grateful fruits for the dessert. The 

 cool acid flavor is peculiarly iigrecable in the 

 summer season, and has led to several differr 

 ent preparations of the fyuit for .winter jiise. 

 The* expressed juice is made intoslu-uh, wine 

 and jelly. The shrub makes a pleasant sum- 

 mer drink ; the wine was fprmerly very popu- 

 lar, among our agricultural, Community ; while 

 the jeUy is an indispensable accompaniment to 

 many (fishes. The fruit of the black specie^ 

 is cliiicfly used for ma)^iug a jam, which is 

 thought valuable as a remedy for various dis- 

 orders of tlie throat. The young leaves have 

 been dried and used as a substitute for green 

 lea, from which it is said that it can scarcely 

 be distinguished. All kinds of currants are 

 much esteemed in cases of sickness, for 

 quenching thirst, and having a coolmg mflu- 

 ence upon the stomach. 



To PEESEnvE THE Grebn Fritit,— Pick 

 it when fully grown, day the sm-face well 

 without shriveling, and cork it tight in glass 

 bottles — covering the cork with sealing wax. 

 Then bury the bottles to the neck in a box of 

 sand or earth, placed in a cool cellar. The 

 f I'uit may thus be kept for almost any length 

 of time, in as good condition as wlien gath- 

 ered from the bushes. 



CuiiBANT Pudding. — Put a layer of pas- 

 try in a dish, fill it with ripe currants, and 

 cover them with a top cnist. Boil for one 

 hour, at the end of which time you are to re- 

 move the top crust, for the pui'pose of putting 

 in butter, sugar, nutmeg and cloves. The 

 pudding is to be eaten with hard sauce. 



CuKRANT Shrub. — To one pint of strained 

 cuiTant juice, put one pound of sugar. Boil 

 together gently for eight or ten minutes, and 

 then set the .syrup in a place where it will cool. 

 When lukewarm, add to every pint a wine- 

 glass full of French brandy. Bottle tight, 

 and keep in a cool apartment. A little of this 

 shrub, mixed with water, makes a very re- 

 freshing drink for hot weather. 



Currant Jelly. — The best way of ex- 

 tracting the juice, is to p\it the ripe fruit into 

 a glass or earthen jar which is suspended in a 

 kettle of boilmg water, and cook it partially. 

 Then put it into a flannel bag, and let the 

 juice strain through without squeezing. To 

 every quart add two and a-half pounds of 

 white sugar, with the beaten white of an egg. 

 Boil the syrup very gently, skimming it all 

 the while until it becomes clear and thick. 

 The proper time for taking it from the fire 

 will be indicated by its dropping in a solid 

 lump to the bottom of a tumbler of cold wa- 

 ter. Fill the glasses, and let the jelly be ex- 

 posed to the sun for a few days, as it will 

 thereby be much improved. There are a great 

 number of receipts for making currant jelly, 

 and this one is believed to be among the very 

 best. 



Currant Wine. — Gather the ripe fruit, 

 when it is perfectly dry, and extract the juice 

 by pressm-e, or in the manner above indicated. 

 For every gallon of juice allow one gallon of 

 water and three pounds of good, clean sugax. 

 Dissolve the sugar in the water and, after re- 

 moving all scum which may rise, add the 

 liquid to the currant juice. Mix them well 

 together in a keg or cask, but do not close it 

 tight until fermeiitalion has ceased, which will 

 not be imder a week. Then add one gill of 

 French brandy to every two gallons of the li- 

 quor, and close the cask tight. In three or 

 four weeks the wine will be fit for bottling. 

 In six months time it will be good for use, but 

 its quality is improved by age. — From the 

 Gardener'' s Tcxt-buok. 



A VALUABLE DISCOVERY. 

 "Dear Sir : I think 1 have (accidentally) 

 made rather a valuable discovery — whicli, 

 though it relates n)ore directly to benefiting 

 the agricidtural rather than the poultry .hitei-* 

 ests of this coiuitry, I send you the fir.«t ac- 

 count of, because it pertains particularly to 

 the specialty for wliich your poultry paper 

 caters. And I am very confident, if further 

 experiments with this article (now being tried) 

 shall prove as wonderfully effective as those I 

 have aheady made have resulted, that we 



liave upon tlie premises of every poultry- 

 breeder in Ajnerica a certain and suuple 

 remedy ^gainst the depredulions of destrucr 

 tive garden andflo'wer insects, that we have as 

 yet never apiireciated I 



"As you are aware, gardeners who raise 

 earl}' market vegetables — such as squashes, 

 cucumbers, melons, etc., as well as smalj 

 f'riuts, cun-ants, raspberries, and even g;i'apo3 

 — have always been put to their wits' ends to 

 devise ways and means to preserve their vines 

 and bushes from the ravages of spring biigs 

 and worms that assail the tender plants as 

 soon as they get fairly growing. And- various 

 applications of plaster, gypsum, aslies, lime, 

 hellebore, Paris green and other poisons have 

 lieen used freely to kill or drive away these 

 pests — often without avail, until half or two- 

 thirds of these plants have been killed or eaten 

 up by these numerous varieties of marauders. 



I had tried these ' cures ' for currant-wonns, 

 tomato-flies, cucumber and .squash vines, etc., 

 as well as for the dispersion of rose-bugs, often 

 without success. And two years ago I made 

 use of a preparation of liquid raw hen-manure 

 upon a few cucumber hills, when the bugs had 

 fairly taken possession f)f the vines'. I applied 

 this morning and evening for a week, and 

 saved every one of my vines. Then I saved 

 my squashes similarly with entire success. I 

 tlien washed our rose-bushes with it daily for 

 fom' or five days, and ' cleaned out ' every bug 

 on them effectually ! The currant bushes 

 came next, and not a currant-worm have I 

 seen this season in my garden. I have used it 

 this spring, and my cucumbers, squashes, cur- 

 rants, etc., (as, they were last year) are en- 

 tirely free from the pests that have quite de- 

 stroyed the first planting of my neighbors. 



I believe the pungent, peculiar odor of this 

 preparation is a complete protection agamst 

 the attacks of these insects. They will not 

 approach the vines or leaves saturated with 

 it. And at the same time, I find this a most 

 admnable fertilizer to the plants. I ;have no 

 doubt it will destroy or keep at a distance the 

 villainous "potato-bug," too. , Why not V At 

 all events, I shall try it the present season, as 

 I notice in the papers that this depredator is 

 about this year in New England. 



" I throw into a conunon bucket-full of wa- 

 ter, a heaped spade-full of fresh manure, 

 taken from beneath the hen-house roosts. 

 Mix well, and apply from a watering-pot. A 

 little goes a great way. It is thus suflicieutly 

 strong, and the effect will be discovered im- 

 mediately. On rose-bushes and currants it 

 should be thrown under the leaves with a large 

 syringe. Upon ground vines it may be applied 

 easily. 



' ' I have found this so singularly beneficial 

 that I now make the fact known in the inter- 

 est of poultry keepers, that they may save the 

 hen maniu-e carefully. If they don't wish to 

 use it on their own premises, there will be a 

 market for it as soon as their neighbors try it, if 

 they succeed with it as I have. And if it will 

 destroy the potato bug (as I sincerely believe 

 it will) there must surely be a lively demand 

 for this often wasted article, should the 'Colo- 

 rado beetle' reaUy show itself in this region. 



"If you think this 'discovery' worth re- 

 cording in your columns, I have no doubt it 

 will meet the eye of some poultry men or 

 gardeners who are more or less annoyed as I 

 have been, who will thank you and me for this 

 hint. It is a simple method, practical, cer- 

 tain, not poisonous, and worthy a trial. 



Yours, &c., Helper. 



"P. S. — I suggest that this liquid be used 

 not too strong. Tlie proportions I give above 

 are sufficiently powerful. If appUed too strong 

 it will burn tlie vines and leaves, or even the 

 stalks, of tender jilants." 



The foregoing from the Fanciers^ Journal oi 

 .lune 10th, 1870, if as affective as represented, 

 surely suggests an insecticide that must ulti- 

 mately surpass all others, on account of its 

 simplicity, safety, and cheapness ; and because 

 the only condition necessary for its production 

 is the ownership M a few fowls, and a proper 

 roosting place for them. If this remedy efl'ect- 

 ually tans them, ive thmk they are justly 

 tanned. — Ed. 



