Ribes — Flowering Currant. 155 



tion was written, the hardiness of the species for this lati- 

 tude had not been determined, nor is it yet thought the 

 indications are favorable for its future usefulness. 



RIBES — Flowering Currant. 



THE currants should not be overlooked among the 

 ornamental shrubs, as some of them prove of 

 special value in garden planting. They belong to 

 the order Saxifragacece, and are included in the genus ribes, 

 numbering between fifty and sixty species. The origin of 

 the name is said to be Arabic, and specimens are found 

 indigenous to Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South 

 America, growing most freely in mountainous regions, 

 and often at considerable elevations. All are of easy cul- 

 tivation, and many of them are prized for their fruit as 

 well as their flowers. The foliage of some of the spe- 

 cies is liable to mildew, and all are a prey to certain 

 insect pests. These are, however, under modern appli- 

 ances, so far subject to the control of the gardener as to 

 prove but slight obstacles to success. 



R. alpinum is of dwarfish habit, seldom rising above 

 two or three feet, and, as its name indicates, has its home 

 in the mountains. It produces its pale yellow or nearly 

 white blossoms in May. They are in erect racemes, and 

 followed by deep scarlet and very showy fruit. R. aureum 

 is the well-known Missouri or Buffalo currant, and is prob- 

 ably more planted than any other. As it was found grow- 

 ing freely on the western prairies and among the foothills 

 of the Rocky Mountains, it took the local names by 

 which it is still popularly known. The bush is larger than 



