37 



is likely to be small in bunch. Versailles is generally reported more 

 reliable. Among late varieties, Victoria is one of the best and very 

 generally sueeessful. There are many new claimants to public favor, 

 some of which may in time take the place of older ones. 



White currants are little wanted in the market and should seldom be 

 planted for market purposes. They are slightl}^ sweeter than I'ed varie- 

 ties and a few may be desirable for home use. 



Among gooseberries, two classes are to be considered, the American 

 and the English types. These differ widely in their characteristics. 

 The English gooseberry is far larger, and consequently more attractive 

 in market, though no better in quality, if, indeed, equal to the American. 

 It is only with exceptional care and under favorable conditions that this 

 type will succeed in America. A few amateurs have reported excellent 

 success with it. With us, in Rhode Island, none of the varieties of this 

 class have proved at all satisfactory. One by one they disappear as the 

 winters go by, and there is little to show for the effort to grow them. 

 The gooseberry mildew is thought to be the chief enemy responsible for 

 this failure, but not all the difference in hardiness may be due to injury 

 from this cause. Under our conditions, the type is far less productive 

 than the American sorts. The weak point of the American varieties is 

 the small size of their fruit. As yet, however, this class must be de- 

 pended upon under most conditions for commercial work. Downing is 

 still our most popular and most uniformly successful variet}'. It is 

 believed to contain some European blood, but the native element pre- 

 dominates to such an extent that it is a verj' hardy and reliable sort, 

 producing fruit of fair size and excellent quality Some of the newer 

 sorts pi'omise well, and may, in time, take the place of this well-tried 

 variety. Among these. Pearl is a promising one with us. 



I know of no experiments to determine the desirability of interpollina- 

 tion among currants and gooseberries. It is a fact, however, that luany 

 blossoms fail to set fruit, and it may be possible that interchange of pol- 

 len Avould prove beneficial. This failure to set fruit is frequently notice- 

 able with the cttrrant in short clusters, the end blossoms having Tailed 

 to set. 



Methods of Propagation. 



Currants are among the most easily propagated of all our fruits which 

 demand any attention at all in this regard. Currant cuttings Avill 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 before 

 growth starts, which must be early, a large proportion of them will root 

 and form plants. 



In more extensive planting, the cuttings are usually made in the tall, 

 as soon as the leaves drop, or even earlier, usually about the first of 

 September The cuttings are made six or eight inches long and may 

 be planted at once or tied up in bimdles and buried, bottom upward, 

 just beneath the surface of the ground. In this condition they will read- 

 ily callous at the base and may Vje taken up and planted later. When 

 planted they shotild be set with only an inch or so of the tip above the 

 ground and be covered with a mulch during the winter. Cuttings taken 

 at any time during the winter and buried in moist moss, earth or sawdust 

 in a cellar will be in good condition for planting early in spring. 



Gooseberries do not root so readily from cuttings as do currants, 

 though with proper care there is little trouble in propagating the Amer- 

 ican varieties in this way. Probably one ol' the best ways is to take the 

 cuttings in the fall or early winter and keep them in the cellar, as sug- 

 gested for currants, until planting time, though they may be planted out 

 in autumn in the same manner as currants. 



The English varieties root with great difficulty and are therefore 

 propagated by mound layering. This is done by banking the earth up 



