352 BUSH-FRUITS 



DURATION OP PLANTATIONS 



The length of time during which plantings will con- 

 tinue productive will depend much upon the care and 

 treatment which they receive. Downing advised* re- 

 newing them every six or eight years, as finer fruit, 

 with less trouble, can be had from young bushes. He 

 was then recommending the tree form of culture, how- 

 ever, and these fail sooner than when a number of 

 stalks are grown and renewed as fast as they become 

 weak. As against this view, it does not occur to the 

 ordinary farmer that they need to be renewed at all. 

 To him a currant bush, once planted, should take care 

 of 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, but does 

 not devote any great amount of energy to the pro- 

 duction of a high grade of fruit. So, too, 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 slight, and 

 the advantage of young and vigorous plants will 

 more than repay it. If for any reason it is found 

 desirable 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. 



*Pruits and Fruit Trees of America, 488. 



