PROPAGATION 341 



of too rank growth or of diminished fruitfulness 

 from an excess of stable manure. Observations at 

 the Massachusetts State Experiment Station* show 

 that tlie desirable qualities of the fruit were in- 

 creased in every case by the application of potash 

 fertilizers. A comparison of sulphate and muriate 

 of potash at the Geneva (N. Y.) Experiment Sta- 

 tion showed no practical difference in favor of either. t 

 To sum up, fertilizing' for the currant does not differ 

 from that required for other fruits, except that it 

 needs to be more liberal than in most other cases, 

 if satisfactory returns are to be obtained. 



PROPAGATION 



Currants are readily propagated from hard -wood 

 cuttings made from well -ripened shoots of one sea- 

 son's growth. The cuttings may be taken and planted 

 either in fall or in spring, but the common custom 

 among nurserymen is to take them in early autumn, 

 as soon as the leaves mature. The leaves commonly 

 begin falling as early as August, but they are fre- 

 quently stripped a week or so before the cuttings 

 are taken, which is usually done the last of August 

 or first of September. They may then be planted at 

 once, or tied in bundles and buried upside down with 

 two inches of soil over the butts. In this position 

 they may callus, and even form roots, before winter. 



*Mass. Agr. Rept. 1884:444. Exp. Station Biill. 7. 

 t Annual Rept, 1890:283. 



