135 
February 23, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
Fruit Growing 
for Amateurs. ^ 
4. CURRANTS. 
The culture of the Red and White should 
be somewhat different to that of the Black 
Currant. Where all are grown in the 
'same garden two different positions should 
be selected, the coolest for the Black, and 
warmer quarters for the other two. 
The Black Currant also succeeds best 
if grown in a rather retentive soil—if 
well-drained ground is available but a 
medium loam suits the Red and W hite. 
All may be grown on walls or wood 
■fences. The Black variety is excellent for 
the north side of a low wall, as a much 
later crop can be secured and the fruit 
easily protected from the onslaught of 
birds. 
Propagation. — From one good speci¬ 
men bush sufficient cuttings may be 
taken at pruning time in the autumn to 
stock a fairly large garden. 
Red and White. —Select shoots which 
are well matured, those about 16 inches 
long being the best (see Fig. 1). 
Cut off a few inches from the end—the 
unripe portion. Now, there must not be 
any suckers from these plants in the 
future, and to prevent them appearing be 
careful to scoop out neatly all “eyes” or 
buds from the base upwards, quite three 
parts the length of the prepared cutting, 
thus leaving three or four buds at the 
top (see Fig. 2). The latter buds will be 
sufficient to form a compact bush. Cut 
a. The cutting prepared for insertion. 
A, buds removed. B, the stem cut off below 
a joint. C, end of cutting removed, as it is 
the unri-pe portion 
off each cutting just 'below a joint; this 
end must be inserted in the ground. 
Select a position on a border facing south¬ 
east, or north-west. Take out trenches 
18 inches apart and 5 inches deep, one 
side of each of which must be quite per¬ 
pendicular (see Fig. 3). Then scatter 
coarse sand to a depth of one inch in the 
bottom of the trench and put in the cut¬ 
tings about one foot apart. Before in¬ 
serting dip them in water and then in dry 
sand; the latter will adhere to the basal 
part and so facilitate root action. 
4 - 
3. Shows the cutting inserted. A, some 
sharp sand to be placed here. B, trench to 
be firmly filed again with soil previously 
removed. 
4. The frst year's growth. 
Half fill the trench with soil, and make 
it firm by treading before quite filling up 
the trench. 
Nothing more need be clone during the 
following winter months, except when 
frost prevails. Wait until the frost has 
gone out of the soil and then forthwith 
tread down the soil around the cuttings 
again. The action of the frost on the 
soil tends to loosen it and to raise the 
cuttings, thus lifting them from their 
firm bed, and unless the soil is again 
made firm around them many will fail to 
root 
Black. —The cuttings must be put in 
exactly similar to those of the Red and 
White, but their preparation must not be 
the same. Young growths, or suckers, 
are valuable, so that there is not any 
necessity to scoop out the basal eyes, but 
£ 
5. Shows a Red or White Currant bush 
two years old. 
6. Shows how to do the pruning. A, A, 
clusters of fruit buds. B, B, B, the ends 
of young shoots cut bach. 
only to cut off a few inches of the unripe 
ends. After being duly prepared the cut¬ 
tings should be at least one foot long. 
Sucker cuttings of the Black Currant may 
be used, but as these generally produce 
suckers freely in after vears, it is not wise 
to make use of such in the case of the Red 
and White. 
Ground for Permanent Planta¬ 
tions. —For the two last named avoid a 
clayey soil, and also one which is very 
sandy. In clay the plants do not bear 
very freely, and in sand the growth is too 
weak. 
Deeply trench the ground and incor¬ 
porate in the top portion a good dressing 
of -well-rotted farmyard manure. The 
early ]>art of autumn is the best time to 
do this work, and November is a suitable 
month for planting. 
Put in the plants about 5 feet apart. 
This applies to both the rows and the 
plants in them. Two and three year old 
plants are the best to plant (see Figs. 5 
and 6), and the more fibrous roots they 
possess the better. Although it is neces¬ 
sary to have deeply dug ground well 
drained, surface roots must be encour¬ 
aged. The object to aim at is a mass of 
fibrous surface roots, which can be fed 
annually by applications of manure in the 
form of a mulch. Directly planting is 
completed put on a mulch of manure 
three inches thick (see Figs. 7 and 8). 
Summer Treatment. —It will not do to 
leave all pruning to be done in the 
autumn; about the third week in June 
cut back all shoots growing towards the 
centre of the bush to within four inches 
of their base. The main branches, or 
stems, will be the fruit-bearing ones, and 
these should be trained in much the same 
way as vine rods are—to form spurs. But 
when the spurs are getting large with 
clusters of. Currants depending from 
them, assist the swelling and colour of 
