454 Currants. 



The different varieties of the CURRANT succeed nearly alike in 

 the Northern, Middle and Western, but fail in the Southern States. 

 i PRUNING THE GOOSEBERRY AND CURRANT. In the culture of 

 the gooseberry and currant three distinct modes are adopted. The 

 first, which is quite common in this country, is to plant the bushes 

 along garden fences, where they often grow up with grass, and 

 being neither cultivated nor cared for, the fruit becomes small and 

 of little value. This is the worst mode. 



The next is to cultivate, but not to prune. The fruit on such 

 bushes is fine while they are young, but as they become filled with 

 a profusion of old bearing wood it diminishes in size. 



The third and best mode is to give them good, clean cultivation, 

 and to keep up a constant supply of young bearing wood, yielding 

 large and excellent crops. 



The currant and gooseberry, like the cherry, bear their fruit 

 on shoots two or more years old ; and it is important that a succes- 

 sion of strong young shoots be maintained for this purpose. The 

 branches of the heads should therefore be distributed at equal dis- 

 tances, and the old bearing spurs cut out when they become too 

 thick or enfeebled, and new shoots allowed successively to take 

 their place. 



When a young gooseberry or currant bush is set out, all the 

 buds or suckers below the surface of the ground should be pre- 

 viously cut off clean, so as to form aclearstem. It is often recom- 

 mended that this stem be a foot high before branching which does 

 well for the moist climate of England ; but under our hot suns it is 

 better that the branches begin near the surface of the ground. 



Old currant bushes, such as have grown up to a thick mass, may 

 be greatly improved, and will increase the fruit several times in 

 size, by thinning out clean all the old crooked wood, and leaving a 

 sufficient number of young stems at equal distances, to bear the 

 future crop. 



The English gooseberry, in this country, will remain free from 

 mildew only so long as it is kept in a vigorous growing condition by 

 frequent and judicious pruning, so as to give a constant succession 

 of strong shoots. 



CLASS I. Red and White Currants (Ribes rubrum). 



Attractor. Large, very white, handsome, strong grower and pro- 

 ductive. French. 



