278 Bush-Fruits 



can be had from young bushes. He was then recommend- 

 ing the tree form of culture, however, and these fail sooner 

 than when a number of stalks are grown and renewed as 

 fast as they become weak. To the ordinary farmer it 

 seldom occurs that they need to be renewed at all. A 

 currant bush, once planted, should care for itself and 

 last indefinitely or at least as long as an apple-tree. That 

 is just what the plant ordinarily does under the conditions 

 to which the farmer too often subjects it. It looks out for 

 itself, devoting little energy to the production of a high 

 grade of fruit. 



So, also, with good care, liberal fertilizing and frequent 

 renewing, bushes may be kept in a profitable condition 

 for many years. Practical growers, however, seem to 

 find it advisable to replant after eight or ten years of 

 service. The cost of replanting is light, and the advantage 

 of young and vigorous plants will more than repay it. 

 If one desires to rejuvenate old bushes in the home-garden, 

 cutting them off close to the ground and working manure 

 into the soil will infuse new life into them. 



HARDINESS 



Ability to endure cold hardly enters into consideration 

 with the currant. It endures the most severe winters, 

 in the extreme northern limits of the United States at 

 least, and comes out in spring with every bud unharmed. 

 The question of hardiness here centers not on resistance 

 to cold, but on ability to endure heat. In this it fails, 

 as already shown by its distribution and its more or less 

 complete failure in warm climates. 



