March 2, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
153 
Fruit Growing 
4. CURRANTS. 
( Continued.) 
for Amateurs. 
Aphis collect in large numbers on the 
under sides of the leaves, quickly crip¬ 
pling the latter, and causing them to turn 
red. Syringe thoroughly with tobacco 
water. Black Currants are soon ruined 
bv the bud mite where this insect gains 
a lodgment (see Fig. 11). The buds 
affected swell considerably, and if opened 
the mite will be found. Pick off all very 
\UTUMN AND WINTER TREATMENT.— 
\aen nearly all the leaves have fallen, 
c nmence the pruning. Have two objects 
i view; first, the fruitfulness of the bush ; 
=i;ond, the form. Cut out any decayed 
i od found. In the case of young trees 
t spurs will be small, and probably 
; y two or three young shoots wall have 
_>wn (see Fig. 4).’ Cut these back, leav- 
i r about one inch at the base. In the 
: ’e of older specimens, quite a large 
r mber of young shoots will be found sur- 
r mded by a dense cluster of fruit buds. 
/o. 
• Shows how to -prune a Red or White 
• rrant; A, the shoots to he cut off; B, the 
is to be preserved at the base of the 
I lots. 
f o. Shows how to prune or thin out the 
\mches of a Black Currant; A, A, repre- 
't the kind of shoots to leave; B, B, the 
’d to cut out. 
■ ! would not do to leave an inch of 
; >wth on each of the young shoots, as 
i result would be to cause overcrowd- 
1 T, so cut out the weakest and those 
1 nting downwards, leaving about three 
• >rtened to within one inch of their base. 
1 aere there are gaps on the main 
inches try to fill them by leaving more 
1 jn g growths. These hints refer to the 
1 ming of the spurs on the main rods, 
■ it were. But some extension of bush 
1 1 be desirable, and to this' end you 
1 1st leave the leading shoots of the cur- 
i it year’s growth longer than those on 
t spurs (see Fig. q). Five or seven 
1 hes will be enough to leave, and al¬ 
ways cut to a bud pointing outwards, then 
the form of the tree will be retained and 
the centre kept open to admit light, sun¬ 
shine, and air. Without the latter we 
cannot have maturity of wood and a full 
crop of fruit. Thin out the shoots of 
Black Currants, and not prune hard back 
(see Fig. 10). 
The Care of the Roots. —Directly 
pruning is completed put on a good dress¬ 
ing of rotted manure and simply point it 
in, doing the work without injuring the 
roots. Digging in the ordinary sense 
must not be thought of. 
Planting Against Walls. —Unless 
you purchase specially trained specimens 
for this purpose, you would be wise to 
plant two-year-old ones, then you can 
train them properly. If a young plant 
possesses four shoots, depress two to the 
right and two to the left, fastening them 
to the wail at such a distance apart that 
when they have fulfilled their purpose and 
become established the main rods will be 
about one foot apart, growing grid-iron 
fashion (see Fig. 12). 
But there is not any necessity for so 
training the Black Currant. Allow 
strong shoots to grow, but not quite close 
to the wall, so that all may be fastened to 
it. Some may, but others should grow 
independent, as it were, of the wall, being 
kept within bounds by strands of wire the 
whole length of the wall. A full crop of 
Currants may be thus secured from plants 
grown in such a position. 
Insect Pests. —Red spider sometimes 
work much havoc with the leaves of 
bushes, growing on light soil during a hot 
season. Very little can be done to get 
rid of the pest, on account of the tender 
fruit, but occasional syringings will pre¬ 
vent the spider becoming sufficiently 
established to greatly injure the bushes. 
11. Shows a shoot infested with the Black 
Currant Bud Mite; A, the infested bud; B, 
a bud free from the mite. 
large buds, and whole branches if many 
buds on them are found swollen, and in 
the autumn paint the remaining main 
branches with lime, or, rather, dust it on 
while the bark is moist. But in bad 
cases, uproot the affected trees and burn 
them. Put new trees in a fresh place, 
and freely lime the ground previously 
tSL. 
12. Shows how to train a Red or White 
Currant tree on a low wall. 
