As the currant is one of the hardiest and most productive of fruits in the North, so is it often neglected, the patch allowed to become foul with grass, never thinned or trimmed, the worms eating the leaves until, in the course of time, the plants weaken and die. Along the fence is no place to plant currants, or, indeed, any other fruit; plant out in the open, at least 5 feet from anything that will interfere with cultivation.

No fruit crop will respond more readily to good care than the currant. Clean cultivation and a liberal use of manure or fertilizers will certainly be followed by well-paying crops. One- or two-year-old plants may be set, 4 by 6 feet. Trim the bush by cutting off most of the suckers below the surface of the ground. The currant should have cool moist soil. If the season is dry, a mulch of straw or leaves will assist the plants to establish themselves.

Currants are easily propagated by mature cuttings of the new or previous year's canes.

The red and white currants bear mostly on two-year-old or older wood. A succession of young shoots should be allowed to grow to take the place of the old bearing wood. Cut out the canes as they grow older. The partial shade afforded by a young orchard suits the currant well, and if the ground is in good condition, no bad results will follow to the orchard, provided the currants are removed before the trees need the entire feeding space.

A currant patch should continue in good bearing for 10 to 20 years, if properly handled. One very important point is to keep the old, weak canes cut out, and a succession of two to four new ones coming from the root each year.

To combat the currant worm, spray thoroughly with Paris green to kill the first brood, just as soon as holes can be seen in the lower leaves - usually before the plants are in bloom. For the second brood, if it appear, spray with white hellebore (p. 203). For borers, cut out and burn the affected canes.

Varieties Of Currants

In most sections the Red Dutch will be found to be the most satisfactory variety, as the plants are much less injured by borers than are Cherry (Plate XXIII), Fay, and Versailles, which are larger and better varieties, and are to be preferred in sections where the borers are not troublesome. Victoria is a valuable market sort where borers are numerous, as it is little injured by them. The same is also true of (Prince) Albert, which is little attacked by currant worms and is particularly valuable as a late sort. White Dutch and White Grape are valuable light-colored varieties, and (Black) Naples as a variety for jelly. London (London Market) is also proving to be satisfactory in some sections.