4 



December 21, 1912, 



THE 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



077 



BLACK CURRANTS. 



Bush fruits play an iinpoitaiit irdvt in all 

 gardens l>otli Jarge and small, therefore 

 it is well to consider the best means of 

 keeping up an adequate supply. There are 

 but few kitehen gardens that are equal in 

 812^^ to the requirements of the establish- 

 ments tliey are intended to serve, and in 

 these days, when a great portion of the 

 space is taken up with herbaceous borders 

 and the like, bush fruits have to be planted 

 in the most unfavourable positions, such 

 as under the shade of fruit trees, the 

 ooasequence being the fruit produced is 

 both small in qiuintity and infeiior in 

 quality to what it would be gi'own under 

 more favourable conditions. There has 

 l)een a great improvement in the various 

 kinds of bush fruits of late years, but even 

 with these superior varieties it is im])os- 

 sible to produce the finest residts unless 

 the conditions under which they are grown 

 are favourable. There is a vast iiifference 

 between growing bush fruits in an open 

 field where there is ample room and a free 

 circulation of air, than in a limited space 

 in the kitchen garden, where they have to 

 )»e crowded together. 



If wo take the black currant as an 

 example, w^e shall find that in many in- 

 stances the plants, after being planted' four 

 or five years, are so overci owded that they 

 have l)ecome one thicket of spindly shoots. 

 Such bushes cannot produce either fine 

 samples or fruit of good quality. There 

 are now some very fine varieties of the 

 black currant, which, if well grown, will 

 produce fruit as large as an ordinarv-sized 

 iiiack cherry, but there is an art in growing 

 even so common a fiuit as this. Old worn- 

 out bushes are of but little or no use, and 

 should be destroyed to make room for 

 younger ones. It is from the stout growths 

 on young trees that the finest crops are 

 ohtamed, and these should not be closer 

 together than a foot^ otherwise the light 

 and air cannot <'irculato freciv amo?)ORt 

 them to plump uj) the fruit buds. The 

 ^voorl which produces tlie best fruit is stnut 

 ami short-jointed, the leaves should he 

 I'Ugcs Avith ]>lump buds at tlieir base. The 

 .season is now at hand when it is advisable 

 to look ovej- the plantations and see whether 

 It IS not possible to make some improve- 

 '\it'nt. AVhere there are already such varie- 

 ties as Boskoop Giant. Goliath, Coronation, 

 yetoria, and Lee^s Prolific gjwn, cuttings 

 diould be taken oflf them ; but wliere none 

 •nt the older varieties are in cultivation it 

 \\ould be well to procure voiuig phuits, 

 filch can be had for a few pence ea.h. In 

 ■solectmg cuttings it is well to choose those 

 nom fifteen to eighteen inches in length, 

 TUkmg them oflF with a htnd of the old wood 

 attached. Do not remove any of the eves, 

 J« the b(^st shoots ar(> those ])roduced near 

 ^^^^ ground. The cuttings shoTild be in- 

 ^^l^ted in W(MI-])reparo(l ground in rows 

 ^'^>out tM-o feet a]>art, allowing a foot be- 

 nveen each cutting in the rows. This will 

 ^i\e ample room to keep them free from 

 ^^eeds, and for the growths made to deve- 

 freely. The top of the cutting should 

 ^ removed in order to induce several buds 

 0 push The following autumn all growths 

 jnncle should be cut back to within about 

 ^(^ree buds of their base, and when the 

 growths from tlu^se are three or four inclies 

 "iig, all but the best placed ones should 

 removed. Tf the plants have been ^vv 

 after in thi^ wav of watering in <lrv 

 y'athf.r. and kept frc(^ from w<mh]s theV 

 ,^!onI(| be strong, and luive eight or teii 

 slioots each. 



ITie best time for transplanting black 

 y^rrants is a.s soon as the leaves are off. and 

 Jf plantiHl early thoy will iKHonir ostab- 

 ^'^•'<h1 Ixdoie C'hristm'as, ami so produce a 



full crop of fruit the following year. Black 

 currants <lo not last long on some soils 

 even with the best cultivation, tlicrefore 

 it is advisable to root a few cuttings each 

 year to keep up a stock of young plants, 

 aiul as soon as there are anV signs of ex- 

 haustion dig up the old ones and make a 

 fresh plantation. If this is followed up, 

 and a clean stock of cuttings taken, we 

 should not hear much of the black currant 



^1 



FRUIT TREES IN POTS. 



Too much injportan<e <annot well l>e 

 placed upon the selection of the \ery l>est 

 ])ossible soil for pot fruit trws. It is 

 well known that good fruits of all kinds are 

 j)roduced uj)on the best land under ordi- 

 nary cultivation, and it is equally as essen- 

 tial that the choi(*e of the best loam shoidd 

 be nn>d<* for fruit culture in pots. At the 



bud mite. As the finest fruit is ])roduccd ])resent time we are very fortunate here in 

 from the stout growths on young bushes. 



such shoots should be selected, removing 

 all others. If pruning is done in the sum- 

 mer after the fruit is cleared off, this will 

 allow the light and air to circulate freely 

 in tlie centre of the trees, and so induce 

 the young shoots to complete their dtn^elo])- 

 ment. It may be necessary to look over 

 the bushes in wiutci' just to r(Mno\.' tlio 

 superfluous shoots, l)ut,'as a rule, it prun- 

 ing is done judiciously in the sumnun'. thore 

 vill iu)t b(^ many growths to remove. 'I'luu-e 



l>eing able to obtain some of the bt^t loam 

 we have ever haiulled for pot fruit tree 

 culture. It should be the to]) s))it of an 

 old pasture, <*ut not moi't^, at the most, than 

 four inches in thickness. 'I'his shoidd , if 

 pos^iible, have been stacktnl sonu^ six months 

 or so prior to its beiiig broken up for mix- 

 ing and potting. A <"alcareous loam is most 

 essential i.o.. owv that has a good ])ro])or- 

 tion oi' lime in its <*<nnposition ^ an<l is full 

 of fi1)ie, which ir) the breaking U]) handles 

 tough and firm, n<)t <-losc, soft, and spongy. 



V SMALL CASE OF DESSERT APPLES. 



is an advantage in having yoiuig bushes, for It is not alwa3's possible to obtain this with- 

 they can be planted closer together than if 

 they are intended to be allowed to remain 

 for several yeaj's. Black cTu-rants prefer 



a dee)), rich, well-tilled soil of close texture 

 to that of a light sandv natiu'e. In that 

 of the latter class fresh plantations should 

 be nmde about every four years. 



H. C. Prinsep. 



Gooseberry Caterpillar,— Where 



thi(> ]Dest has been troublesome daring the 

 past season it will be advisable to take the 

 precaution of removing two or three inches 

 of the surface soil, together with any leaves 

 or rubbish there may be under the bushes, 

 as it is here the pests are found during" the 

 winter. A dusting of fresh lime around the 

 bushes, previous to adding fresh soil, Avill 

 prove beneficial. The infested soil and rub- 

 bish should, if }K>ssible, be burnt ; or, fail- 

 ing thits-, be deeply buried out of the wav. 



out the mixing of two kinds, and this we 

 have re])eatedly had to do ourselves. Such 

 a loam as one M ould select as being the ideal 

 soil for makiuii a vine border is not far 



■ 



short of bc'ug the best to choose. 



Preparing the Soil. 



There is frequently good loam to be found 

 Avitliin easy reach upon the lands and pur- 

 \ iews of an estate, but Avhich, strange to 

 sav. is forbidden to tlu^ uardemu* to make 

 use of for this object, and lu^ has to go 

 farther a Held to obtain the needful soil for 

 his fruit tiees, not only in pots, but in the 

 open as well. There should not be any 

 waste in the soil wIumi it has been obtaiiuMi 

 at, ])ossib!y, some considerable cost, and 

 every hamit'ul should be made use of. This 

 I like to be enable<l to do for our pot fruit 

 trees. 



Tnless thtuN,' is evidence of the ])resence 



