172 



buist's family kitchen c a.r dener. 



Ribes nigra. ox the Black Currant, is a very rich fruit, pro- 

 duced in bunches of from three to five inches long, but requires 

 a moist, cool situation, shaded from the noon-day sun. There 

 are stveral varieties of it. called Black Gear-:. Black Xapdes. 

 and the Common Black. The fruit is made into jelly or jam. 

 and much used in consumptive complaints. 



The Red Currunt is a very familiar fruit, susceptible of 

 great improvement by culture, worthy of the best sare. and 

 generally gets none. There are several varieties of it. at least 

 it is grown under a variety of names. I have cultivated dVeuc 

 Red. Knight's Ea rly Red] Red Grape, and lastly. May's Victo- 

 ria, neither of which excel the old Red Dutt that I cultivated 

 twenty-five years ago. Eed Currants and Raspberries make 

 the finest jelly. 



Champagne. — This is a variety evidently between the Eed 

 and White, of a pink color. 



White Dutch. — The White Currant is preferred for the table, 

 it being more sweet and palatable than any of the other sorts. 

 It grows like the two preceding, and requires the same treat- 

 ment, 



Propagation and Culture, — The best mode of increasing 

 this plant is by selecting cuttings of good, strong, young wood, 

 about a foot long. The eyes from the lower part of the shoot, 

 for about eight inches, must be cut out previous to planting, 

 which will prevent suckers being thrown up from the roots 

 Plant them as early in Spring as the ground can be prepared, 

 or late in the Autumn, just before the ground is closed with 

 the frost. A partially shaded situation is most suitable, 

 though they will do in any rich, moist ground : in two years 

 they will make fine plants, when they must be removed to 

 where they are intended to icmain for fruiting, (suckers and 

 layers should never be used',. Their after-culture is merely 

 to train up the plant to one stem, about a foot high, then allow 

 it to spread and ramify uniformly, but never admit it to sucker 

 from the root 



