THINNING AND TRAINING 349 



nipped back in summer, when they have reached suf- 

 ficient height. In common practice, a liberal and judi- 

 cious thinning out of old wood and superfluous young 

 wood in early spring will be all that is required. 



Experiments in thinning the fruit, made in New 

 Jersey,* showed that when the outer half of the flower 

 cluster was removed with a pair of scissors there were 

 15 per cent more berries to the cluster, and the berries 

 were 7 per cent heavier. The quality also seemed to 

 be better. 



Various fancy methods of training are resorted to 

 by those with a taste for oddities. Sometimes they 

 are trained in "pillar" form, one upright shoot being 

 tied to a stake and the side branches kept very short. 

 They may also be readily trained against a wall, and 

 it is said that specially fine fruit may be obtained on 

 a north wall. They have even been grafted, from 

 time to time, in order to secure standard or tree 

 forms, Ribes aureum being most commonly employed 

 as a stock for this purpose. These methods were 

 chiefly in vogue early in the horticultural develop- 

 ment of our own country, but are now little used. 



GATHERING AND MARKETING 



The currant, like all other fruits, should be picked 

 only when dry. Although a firm fruit, which stands 

 shipment well when properly treated, it will readily 

 spoil if gathered and packed when wet. Much care 



*Garden and Forest, 3:19. 



