Pruning the Currant. 161 



berry and one for the currant, of the respective amounts of 

 TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS cach, as will bc scen by the report in 

 another page. These prizes, we doubt not, will be the means 

 of inducing amateur cultivators to try experiments, with a 

 view to the growth of superior varieties; and we may antici- 

 pate the production of new seedlings more valuable than any 

 we now possess. 



In the article before alluded to, we urged upon cultivators 

 more attention to the production of seedling currants, con- 

 fident that, with the improvement which has already been 

 made in the strawberry, and other small fruits, there could be 

 no reason why the same success should not follow similar 

 endeavors with the currant ; and we trust, as the field is open, 

 that our own cultivators may be able to achieve that which 

 has been so long a desideratum, with all lovers of this valua- 

 ble fruit. — Ed. 



The Currant Tree. — Under every mode of training, the 

 red Currant, and also the white, require to be regularly 

 pruned every year. In rearing the young plants, the first 

 thing to be aimed at is a clear stem, about five inches in 

 length, free from suckers. In preparing the cutting, care 

 should be taken to remove all the buds on the portion in- 

 tended to be inserted in the ground, otherwise many of them 

 would form suckers, injurious to the plants, and troublesome 

 to displace effectually. In some cases, cuttings can be ob- 

 tained, long enough to afford at once the proper length of 

 stem ; but when such cannot be had, when the cutting is 

 altogether too short, or proves so after the necessary removal 

 of the imperfectly formed wood at top, then three buds above 

 the surface of the ground will be sufficient. These will 

 generally produce three shoots, all of which may be allowed 

 to grow during the first summer after the cutting has been 

 planted, in order to assist in forming roots. Supposing the 

 plant is intended for the open ground, and that it is to be 

 trained in the usual way, open in the centre ; then, in au- 

 tumn, after the leaves have fallen, two out of the three shoots 

 which the plant has made should be cut off, and the third, 



VOL. XVI. NO. IV. 21 



