Vol. XLIV. No. 1839. NEW YORK, APRIL 25. 1885. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1835, by the Rural New-Yorker in the oiBce of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.} 
PRICE S'!YE CENTS. 
*2.0U PER YEAR. 
SEEDLING CURRANTS.—THE BEST 
VARIETIES OF CURRANTS RED, 
WHITE AND BLACK. 
trawberries, rasp berries—black 
and red—have gone and the early 
large fraits have not yet come. 
Duriog this interval we have the 
cun-ants, white, red and black, 
though they lap over far into 
the later season of early apples 
and pears. We do not like to 
see a farmer’s garden without small fruits of 
all kindsl But while on the score of economy, 
some excuse may be made for an absence of 
those which require considerable care, there 
is no excuse whatever for an absence of cur- 
raut bushes which are so readily raised from 
cuttiugs; while the plants demand very little 
cultural care. The only formidable enemy to 
the currant bush is the green worm, and this 
is very easily held in check by the use of 
hellebore. Currants are easily raised from 
seeds. The illustration is a true portrait of 
the-first seedling currant which has borne 
fruit at the Rural Grounds. The bunch be¬ 
neath at Fig. t48 is life-size, while the stem, 
leaves, and racemes are reduced about one 
third. 
Currant seedliugs vary remarkably as to 
the age when they tirst bear fruit, some bear¬ 
ing iu three years, others in four, five, six aud 
even later. The specimen illustrated bore the 
third year from seed. Seed may be gathered 
from the currants when they begin to ripen, 
and if sown at once in drills of mellow soil a 
quarter-of-an-inch deep and kept moist, they 
will soon germinate and make a growth which, 
with the protection of straw or other mate¬ 
rial, will whiter iu safety. They may be trans¬ 
planted the next year, or the most thrifty aud 
promising left to fruit, while the weaker 
plants may be removed to other places, or 
destroyed. 
The list of currants is a long one, but unless 
a collection is wanted for experiment, the 
following varieties need alone be considered: 
Among blacks, Lee’s Prolific is an improve¬ 
ment upon the old Black Naples. It Is earlier; 
the racemes are longer, aud the berries fully 
as large. The Black Champion is of later in¬ 
troduction than Lee’s Prolific, aud the berries, 
as well as the bunches are said to be larger. 
We imported this two years ago from Eng¬ 
land, but owing to an injury which the plant 
received the first year, it has not yet fruited. 
There is no fruit which makes better jellies 
than the black currants, aud there is, for this 
reason, a growing demand for them, aud im¬ 
proved varieties will find a ready sale. The 
Black Naples and Black Champion are partic¬ 
ularly valuable for Canada and our Northern 
States. The black currants are never that 
we know of, attacked by the currant, worm. 
Of red currants, the Cherry is the largest, 
though the bunches are short and the quality 
inferior. Fay’s Prolific, which was first illus¬ 
trated in the R N.Y., is of recent introduc¬ 
tion, uud wherever it has been fruited is 
accepted as the best red currant, all things 
considered. Versaillaise so closely resembles 
the Cherry that either serves for both. The 
Red Dutch is in quality the best red currant, 
and under good care will surprise those who 
have seen the fruit only as it grows iu hedges 
or half-smothered with grass and weeds. 
Among whites, thoWbiteGrape is unquestion¬ 
ably the best. The berries are large, and iu 
quality mild and excellent. The White Dutch 
is also of excellent quality, but the fruit is 
small or at best uudiurn in size. Among 
light red sorts, Prince Albert bears a large 
berry aud a long bunch. It is very prolific 
and ripens late. 
THE BLACK RASPBERRY. 
CHARLES A. GREEN. 
Of the popular black cap little was known 
30 years ago as a cultivated fruit. It was 
popular with the school-children and the house¬ 
wife, as found growing in the fence corners 
and stump lots; but the idea of cultivating it 
in fields had, at that time, occurred to few. if 
auy. This type of the raspberry was known 
as the American Black. Mr. H. H. Doolittle, 
of Oak’s Corners, N. Y., may be called the 
“father” of the improved black raspberry, he 
having discovered the first improvement, 
uaming it the “Doolittle,” otherwise known 
and possessing but little of this world’s goods. 
He received scarcely any reward for the dis¬ 
covery of this variety. Immediately after 
the introduction of the “Doolittle,” attention 
was attracted to the wonderful productiveness, 
hardiness, and adaptability of the raspberry 
to cultivation. Even the wild varieties were 
found greatly improved by plauting in a gar¬ 
den or field, where they could be cared for. 
Ere long we heard of plantations of a quarter 
of an acre, which large planting astonished 
all beholders. A few audacious men were 
encouraged to plant even an acre of valuable 
soil to this fruit; but they were hardly con¬ 
sidered of sound mind, being advised by their 
RURAL SEEDLING CURRANT. (From Nature.) Fig. 148. 
as the “American Improved,” Doolittle Im¬ 
proved, “Joslin Black cap,”“Joslln Improved,” 
etc. Mauy people still think there are two va¬ 
rieties of the Doolittle. This variety created 
a remarkable sensation at the time of its intro¬ 
duction by Leunder Joslin, and the present 
popularity of the fruit Is largely owing to the 
remarkable characteristics of the old Doo¬ 
little, which is indeed, a remarkable berry, 
even at the preseut time. 
1 often meet Mr. Doolittle at our fairs, ex¬ 
hibiting his vegetables and fruits. He is a 
plain, unpretending man, now quite aged, 
friends that such a vast amount of fruit would 
over stock the market. But these rash men 
not coming to grief, but being fairly reward¬ 
ed for their labor, others were encouraged to 
follow in their foot-steps, until now some of 
our smallest towns here have from four to six 
hundred acres devoted to black caps. The 
market price of the fruit, both fresh and 
evaporated, has greatly increased daring all 
these years, much to the surprise of everyone. 
Even the most enthusiastic supposed the mar¬ 
ket would be over-stocked, especially with 
evaporated berries. These were marketed by 
tons and car-loads; but they have found con¬ 
sumers in the most distant mining camps, and 
traders’ posts, manufacturing towns, and con¬ 
fectioners’ stores. They are also used for 
making jams, sauces, tarts, raspberry brandy, 
raspberry vinegar, and numerous other pur¬ 
poses. Lastly comes the demand from foreign 
countries for evaporated raspberries, as a 
coloring material. This has caused a further 
advance in the production. 
Probably more black raspberries are grown 
in Western New York than in any other 
section of the country. In many sections it 
has become the leading industry, proving 
profitable, not only for the fruit, but for the 
young plants, which are very largely propa¬ 
gated, and are in great demand. Very little 
has been written about the black-cap, and in 
searching for information, I find absolutely 
nothing regarding the limit of range in which 
it thrives. It appears to favor a cold climate, 
not being cultivated much in the South, but 
flourishing very far north. In England, it 
appears to be unknown, so far as I am able to 
learn. I have sent plants there to our patrons, 
bat have never learned how they succeeded. 
An English boy in my office says he never saw 
a black raspberry until he came to this coun- 
try, although he lived in a fruit-growing 
where the red raspberry is grown in 
abundance. 
Information regarding the culture of this 
fruit is eagerly sought. Though it succeeds 
passably well under almost any treatment, it 
can be made to yield a largely increased crop 
by employing the best methods. It abhors 
wet and poorly drained ground, and should 
never be planted where the water stands on 
the surface. Elevated land should be selected 
if possible, and a sod which is not too compact. 
Sandy loam would, no doubt, be the best, were 
it not too often lacking in fertility: the rasp¬ 
berry especially enjoys rich soil. It has been 
the custom to plant in stools 3J.£ feet apart, 
but it is now held that more berries can be 
grown by planting more closely one way: say 
two feet or even less, leaving ample space for 
cultivation, even eight feet sometimes, so that 
two horses may pass between the rows. While 
young plants are full of vitality, they are 
easily destroyed by the hot sun or dry wind, 
and should not be exposed a moment in plant¬ 
ing. Exposure is frequently the cause of fail¬ 
ures. People often drop them in the row iu 
advance of the planters, where their vitality 
is sapped before they are covered in the 
ground. Another cause of failure is planting 
too deep. 1 have known them to lie buried 
three to four inches deep in compact soil for 
several months, without growing a particle, 
and to die ultimately. They should be planted 
in heavy soil not over two inches deep, and 
the earth be firmly compacted about them. In 
sandy soil, they can be planted deeper without 
so much danger of smothering. In subsequent 
cultivation, especially during the first few 
mouths, care should be taken to cultivate very 
shallo wly about them, for if the earth is 
loosened about the roots, the wind will reach 
them aud destroy them. 
The best time for planting black raspber¬ 
ries is after the young germ has pushed above 
the soil, resembling a tomato plant. At this 
period roots have increased in size aud vigor, 
and some of the the earth will cleave to them. 
The germ is tough, and not liable to break, 
and they will continue to grow with scarcely 
any set-back, not one plant in hundreds failing 
if properly planted. The first year but little, 
if any, pruning is necessary, but the secoud 
year the young canes should be nipped when 
one foot high, if it is desired to propagate 
young plauts. These canes can be made to 
branch out aud becomeself-supportiag,requir¬ 
ing no stake or wires, and giving the largest 
specimens. In propagating the blaek-eap,the 
tips of the canes should be buried two inches 
