Propagation 267 



Experiment Station 1 show that the desirable qualities 

 of the fruit were increased in every case by the applica- 

 tion of potash fertilizers. A comparison of sulfate and 

 muriate of potash at the Geneva (New York) Experiment 

 Station showed no practical difference in favor of either. 2 

 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 re- 

 turns are to be obtained. 



PKOPAGATION 



Currants are readily propagated from hardwood cut- 

 tings made from well-ripened shoots of one season's 

 growth. The cuttings may be taken and planted either 

 in fall or in spring, but the common custom among nursery- 

 men 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 frequently 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. 



They may be taken up and planted later, removed to 

 a cellar and buried in sand during the winter, or be given 

 an additional covering and be left where they are until 

 spring. If planting is deferred until spring, it must be 

 done very early, as they begin growth at a low tempera- 



1 Mass. Agr. Kept. 1884 : 444. Exp. Station Bull. 7. 



2 Annual Kept. 1890 : 283. 



