The Canadian Horticulturist. 197 



GROWL\G THE CURRANT. 



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HE many plantings of currant bushes one sees, bereft of foliage in 

 mid-summer, bespeak either a want of knowledge or a lack of carfe 

 on the part of those who tend them. The erroneous idea that 

 currants may be planted anywhere is an all-prevailing one. To 

 have them do well they need deep soil and, preferably, a damp one. 

 ^S^'* A few years ago I set a row of the Versailles in such a location, and 

 "•^ the size of the bunches and berries was really wonderful. Some of 



my neighbors thought that I had possession of some new sort, and more than 

 one of them got cuttings from me, because they thought it a new kind. As a 

 rule there is too much of the let-alone idea prevailing, and something more than 

 this is necessary to have good currants. My neighbors have an idea that it 

 hurts their bushes to be dug around. Now, the bushes of mine, referred to 

 above, were on the boundary line of a grass plat and a vegetable garden, and on 

 the latter side of them the soil was forked up every spring, and it certainly . 

 showed no injurious results at all. Still, as these bushes root near the surface, 

 digging should not be done close to them. Forking is better, as being less liable 

 to hurt the roots by cutting them. Those who do not get good results, probably 

 leave their plants too much to themselves. Unless wood needs cutting out 

 annually, the cutting back of a shoot here and there to cause some strong new 

 ones to form for the next season, is advised. The plants of my own that I have 

 referred to were not mulched, save by the sod on the one side of them, and they 

 never lost their leaves in summer ; nevertheless it is a good plan to do it, the • 

 coolness and moisture it induces being of much benefit. Young plants, too, are 

 much better than old ones. It is better to cut old ones back, to have them 

 form new wood, or plant younger ones. When not practicable to grow them in 

 the exact station they would like, mulch them in summer with coarse hay or 

 grass, to gain moisture, and be sure that there is good food for the roots. This 

 will lessen the tendency of the bushes to drop their foliage in summer, a some- 

 thing now all too common, and which weakens the plants greatly. Partial shade 

 is a benefit to currants, but it must not be that afforded by large trees, because, 

 to get this, they have to be so near that they get into soil robbed of its food by 

 the roots of the trees, which extend a long distance from the tree. That afforded 

 by some fence, or building, is better. Regarding the laest sorts to plant, there 

 are some of our marketmen here who stick to the old red Dutch, as they say 

 they get the greatest quantity from it. But if this doubtful statement be correct, 

 there is no doubt at all that the larger fruit of Fays, Cherry and Versailles bring 

 the better price. In the long run the larger sized fruit sells the best of all. 

 Currants are largely used for preserving, and for this purpose also is a good 

 sized fruit the best — Green's Fruit Gnnver. 



