In moist land, cuttings can be made to grow even if set out late in the spring, especially if top-dressed and mulched; but if they are to be started on high, dry land, they should be out sufficiently early in the autumn to become rooted before winter. If our land is of a nature that tends to throw roots out of the ground--and moist, heavy land has this tendency--it may be best to bury the cuttings in bundles, tied up with fine wire, on a dry knoll, below the action of the frost, and set them out early--_as early as possible_--in the spring. At any season the rows of cuttings should be well top-dressed with fine manure, and if planted in autumn, they should be so well covered with straw, leaves, or some litter, as not to suffer or be thrown out in freezing and thawing weather. I manage to get half my cuttings out in the fall, and half in early spring.

In the greenhouse, and even out-of-doors, under very favorable circ.u.mstances, plants may be grown from single buds; and green wood also propagates readily under gla.s.s. A vigorous young plant, with roots attached, may often be obtained by breaking off the suckers that start beneath the surface around the stems; and, by layering or bending bushes over and throwing dirt upon them, new plants are readily made also; but more shapely, and usually more vigorous, bushes are obtained by simple cuttings, as I have described.

When it is designed to grow a cutting in a tree form, all the buds but two or three at the top should be carefully removed.

If we wish to try our fortune in raising new varieties, we must sow seeds of the very best specimens we can find, gathered when perfectly ripe. These seeds should never be kept where it is hot or very dry, and should be soaked for a day or two in tepid water before planting. Sow early in spring, quarter of an inch deep, in fine rich soil, which must continually be kept moist, but never wet. Top-dressings of very fine, light manure would keep the surface from baking, thus giving the seeds a chance to germinate. Tolerate no weeds. Remove the seedlings in the fall to rows three feet apart, and the plants two feet distant in the row. There they may stand until their comparative value can be determined.

VARIETIES

Black currants form quite a distinct cla.s.s in appearance and flavor, and are not as popular with us as in England. They are stronger and coa.r.s.er-growing plants than the red and white species, and do not require as high culture. They can be grown to advantage in tree form, as they are quite exempt from insect enemies. The tent caterpillar is the only one that I have seen injuring them. They also require much less pruning, since the best fruit is borne on the young wood of the previous year's growth. If they are grown as bushes, they need more room--six feet apart each way--and the knife need be used only to secure good form and s.p.a.ce for air and light. Two native species--_Ribes floridum_ and _Ribes aureum_--are cultivated to some extent (for description see "Gray's Botany"). Although these species and their varieties are of little value, Mr. Fuller thinks that they might become the parents of far better kinds than we now have, since they are strong growers, and their fruit is naturally of better flavor than that of the European black currant. _Ribes aureum_ is largely cultivated as an ornamental shrub, and its spicy-scented, bright yellow flowers of early spring are among my pleasantest memories. As has already been explained, we can make miniature trees of our white and red currants, by grafting them on its strong, erect-growing stems.

_Ribes nigrum_ is the European species, and is found wild throughout the northern part of the Eastern Hemisphere. Mr. Fuller writes that the inhabitants of Siberia make a beverage from its dried leaves which is said closely to resemble green tea. Black Naples is the finest variety of this species. Charles Downing says of it: "Its berries often measure nearly three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Its leaves and blossoms appear earlier than those of the common, or English Black, but the fruit is later, and the cl.u.s.ters as well as the berries are larger and more numerous." Lee's Prolific is said by some to be a slight improvement on the above; by others it is thought to be very similar.

Of red currants, the old Red Dutch is the most prominent. It is the currant of memory. From it was made the wine which our mothers and grandmothers felt that they could offer with perfect propriety to the minister. There are rural homes to-day in which the impression still lingers that it is a kind of temperance drink. From it is usually made the currant jelly without which no lady would think of keeping house in the country. One of the gravest questions in domestic economy is whether the jelly will "jell." Often it does not, and cannot be made to. The cause of its lamentable perversity is this: The currants have been left until over-ripe before picking, or they have been picked wet, just after rain. Gather them when dry, and as soon as possible after they have turned red, and I am informed by the highest domestic authority (my wife) that there will be no difficulty.

In flavor, the Red Dutch is unequalled by any other red currant. It is also a variety that can scarcely be killed by abuse and neglect, and it responds so generously to high culture and rigorous pruning that it is an open question whether it cannot be made, after all, the most profitable for market, since it is so much more productive than the larger varieties, and can be made to approach them so nearly in size.

Indeed, not a few are annually sold for Cherry currants.

The White Dutch is similar to the Red in the growth and character of the bush. The cl.u.s.ters, however, are a little shorter, and the fruit a little larger and sweeter, and is of a fine yellowish-white color, with a veined, translucent skin.

The White Grape is an advance in size upon the last-named, and of marvellous productiveness and beauty. It is not as vigorous as the White Dutch, and is more spreading in its mode of growth, requiring careful pruning to make a shapely bush. The fruit, also, is not spread so evenly over the wood, but is produced more in bunches. In flavor, it is one of the very best.

Dana's Transparent, and other white varieties, do not vary materially from either the White Grape or Dutch.

The great market currant is the Cherry. In the "Canadian Horticulturist" for September, 1878, I find the following:

"The history of this handsome currant is not without interest. Monsieur Adrienne Seneclause, a distinguished horticulturist in France, received it from Italy among a lot of other currants. He noticed the extraordinary size of the fruit, and gave it, in consequence, the name it yet bears. In the year 1843 it was fruited in the nursery of the Museum of Natural History, and figured from these samples in the 'Annales de Flore et de Pomone' for February, 1848. Dr. William W.

Valk, of Flushing, Long Island, N. Y., introduced it to the notice of American fruit growers in 1846, having imported some of the plants in the spring of that year."

This variety is now very widely disseminated, and its culture is apparently becoming increasingly profitable every year. Two essentials are requisite to success with it--high manuring and skilful pruning. It has the tendency to produce long branches, on which there are but few buds. Rigorous cutting back, so as to cause branching joints and fruit spurs, should be practiced annually. The foliage is strong and coa.r.s.e, and the fruit much more acid than the Dutch family; but size and beauty carry the market, and the Cherry can be made, by high culture, very large and beautiful.

Versailles, or _La Versaillaise_, is a figurative bone of contention.

The horticultural doctors disagree so decidedly that the rest of us can, without presumption, think for ourselves. Mr. A. S. Fuller has probably given the subject more attention than any one else, and he a.s.serts, without any hesitancy, that this so-called variety is identical with the Cherry. Mr. Fuller is certainly ent.i.tled to his opinion, for he obtained plants of the Cherry and Versailles from all the leading nurserymen in America, and imported them from the standard nurseries abroad, not only once, but repeatedly, yet could never get two distinct varieties. The writer in the "Canadian Horticulturist"

also states in regard to the Versailles:

"Some pains were taken to obtain this variety on different occasions, and from the most reliable sources, so that there might be no mistake as to the correctness of the name; but after many years of trial we are unable to perceive any decided variation, either in the quality of the fruit, the length of the bunch, or the habit of the plant, from the Cherry currant."

I must admit that I am inclined to take the same view; for, during several years, I have looked in vain for two distinct varieties. I have carefully kept the two kinds separate, but find in each case the same stout, stocky, short-jointed, erect shoots that are often devoid of buds, and tend to become naked with age, and the same dark green, thick, bluntly and coa.r.s.ely serrated foliage. Mr. Downing thinks the difference lies in the fact that, while the Versailles strain produces many short bunches like the Cherry, it also frequently bears cl.u.s.ters, and that such long, tapering cl.u.s.ters are never formed on the Cherry.

This is the only difference, I think, if any exists; but in no instance have I been able to find this distinction well defined and sustained by the bearing plantations that I have seen. Mr. Downing, however, has had tenfold more experience than I have, and his opinions are ent.i.tled to corresponding weight.

That this cla.s.s is much inclined to "sport," I think all will admit.

One bush in a row may be loaded with fruit year after year, and the next one be comparatively barren. The cl.u.s.ters on one bush may be short and characteristic of the Cherry, while a neighboring bush in the same patch may show a tendency to mingle some long cl.u.s.ters with the short ones; and young bushes grown from the same plant will show these variations. I am satisfied that distinct and much improved strains could be developed by propagating from bushes producing the best and most abundant fruit, and that a variety having the characteristics of the Ideal Versailles could be developed. The importance of this careful selection in propagation can scarcely be overestimated, and the fruit grower who followed it up for a few years might almost double the productiveness and quality of many of his varieties.

Victoria (known also as May's Victoria, and having a half-dozen other synonymes) is a distinct variety, whose great value consists in its lengthening out the currant season two or three weeks after the above-named kinds have matured. The fruit is also large--between the Red Dutch and Cherry in size--exceedingly abundant, and although rather acid, of good flavor when fully ripe. The cl.u.s.ters are very long--from five to seven inches--tapering, and the berries are bright red. If it is grown in some moist, cool, half-shady location, the bunches will hang on the bushes very late in the season. In many localities it is found very profitable, since it need not be sold until the others are out of the market. The young branches are rather slender, but the plant itself is vigorous, and can be grown at less expense than the Cherry.

There are many other named varieties, but in the majority of instances the distinctions between them are slight, and as they are waning before the finer varieties that I have described, I shall not attempt to lighten the shadows that are gathering around them. The future promises more than the past, and I think that, before many years pa.s.s, some fine new kinds will be introduced.

The enemies and diseases of the currant will be treated in a later chapter.

CHAPTER XXVII

GOOSEBERRIES

I have treated the currant very fully, not only because it is the more popular fruit in this country, but also because the greater part of my suggestions under that heading applies equally to this branch of the _Ribes_ tribe. Possessing the same general characteristics, it should be treated on the same principles that were seen to be applicable to the currant. It flourishes best in the same cool exposures, and is the better for partial shade. Even in the south of England the more tender-skinned varieties often scald in the sun. However, I would recommend the shade of a fence or a northern hillside, rather than overhanging branches of trees. A rich soil, especially one that is deep and moist but not wet, is equally requisite, and the rigorous annual pruning is even more essential. As the wood becomes old and black, it should be cut out altogether. Fruit buds and spurs are produced on wood two or more years old, and cutting back causes these, but they must not be allowed to become too crowded. To no fruit are air and light more essential.

We have in this country two very distinct cla.s.ses of gooseberries-the first of foreign origin, and the second consisting of our native species. Gray thus describes _Ribes Grossularia_, garden or English gooseberry: "Cultivated from Europe for the well-known fruit; th.o.r.n.y and p.r.i.c.kly, with small, obtuse, three to five lobed leaves, green flowers, one to three on short pedicels, bell-shaped calyx, and large berry."

This native of northern Europe and the forests of the British Islands has been developed into the superb varieties which have been famous so long in England, but which we are able to grow with very partial success. It remembers its birthplace even more strongly than the currant, and the almost invariable mildew of our gardens is the sign of its homesickness. The cool, moist climate of England just suits it, and it is the pride of the gardens of Lancashire to surpa.s.s the world in the development of large specimens. Mr. Downing writes:

"We are indebted to the Lancashire weavers, who seem to have taken it up as a hobby, for nearly all the surprisingly large sorts of modern date. Their annual shows exhibit this fruit in its greatest perfection, and a gooseberry book is published in Manchester every year, giving a list of all the prize sorts, etc."

The extraordinary pains taken is suggested by the following quotation from the "Encyclopaedia of Gardening":

"To effect this increased size, every stimulant is applied that their ingenuity can suggest. They not only annually manure the soil richly, but also surround the plants with trenches of manure for the extremities of the roots to strike into, and form round the stem of each plant a basin, to be mulched, or manured, or watered, as may become necessary. When a root has extended too far from the stem, it is uncovered, and all the strongest leaders are shortened back nearly one-half of their length, and covered with fresh, marly loam, well manured. The effect of this pruning is to increase the number of fibres and spongioles, which form rapidly on the shortened roots, and strike out in all directions among the fresh, newly stirred loam, in search of nutriment."

This is carrying culture to an extreme rarely, if ever, seen in America. The annual referred to above recorded one hundred and fifty-five gooseberry exhibitions in 1863.

The number of varieties is almost endless, and more than seven hundred prize sorts are named in Lindley's "Guide to the Orchard"; but not one of them, I fear, can be grown in this country, except under favorable conditions and with extra care. Even after supplying such conditions, they will often mildew in spite of our best efforts. Again, in some localities, and for obscure causes, they will thrive and continue for years quite free from this chief enemy of the foreign gooseberry.

Repeated applications of the flowers of sulphur over the bushes, from the time the fruit sets until it is ripe, are probably the best preventive. Thorough mulching, rigorous pruning, and high culture are also to be recommended. Those who garden for pleasure would do well to try some of these fine foreigners.

The following are some that Mr. Downing and others have recommended:

I. Red Varieties: British Crown, Top Sawyer, Roaring Lion, Lancashire Lad, Crown Bob.

II. White: Cheshire La.s.s, White Lion, Whitesmith, White Honey.

III. Green: Laurel, Heart of Oak, Jolly Angler, Jolly Tar.

IV. Yellow: Golden Fleece, Bunker Hill, Conqueror, etc.

If but two or three foreign berries are to be chosen, I would recommend Crown Bob, Bearing Lion, and Whitesmith.

I am sorry to say that seedlings of these foreign varieties have the same tendency to mildew shown by their parents. The Late Emerald was originated in the old garden at Newburgh, and is a sad example of this fact. For many years it thrived in its birthplace without a trace of mildew, but on my own place it has behaved so badly that I do not recommend it. Were it not for this fault, I should grow no other variety.

In view of this inveterate evil, mildew, which is so seldom escaped and so difficult to overcome, we must turn to the second great cla.s.s, our native species, since they are adapted to our climate. Of these there are several species, of which the following are the most prominent:

_Ribes speciosum_, showy, flowering gooseberry of California, cultivated for ornament, especially in England, and likely to succeed in the southern Middle States. It is trained like a climber; has small, shining leaves, very handsome flowers resembling those of a fuchsia, berry p.r.i.c.kly, and few-seeded.

_R. rotundifolium_, more common in the West, is often downy-leaved; peduncles slender; the slender stamens and two-parted style longer than the narrow calyx; berry smooth.

_R. cynosbati_ is found in the rocky woods of the North, is downy-leaved, with slender peduncle, stamens and undivided style not exceeding the broad calyx; large berry, usually p.r.i.c.kly.

_R. lacustre_, Lake or Swamp Gooseberry, with the p.r.i.c.kly stems of the gooseberry, but with a raceme of flowers like those of a currant; found in the cold bogs and wet woods of the North; small, bristly berries, of unpleasant flavor.

Last, but by no means the least, is the _Ribes hirtellum_, "commonest in our Eastern States, seldom downy, with very short thorns or none, very short peduncles, stamens and two-cleft style scarcely longer than the bell-shaped calyx; and the smooth berry is purple, small and sweet." (Gray.) This is the parent of the most widely known of our native varieties, the Houghton Seedling, named from its originator, Abel Houghton, of Lynn, Ma.s.sachusetts. The bush is a vigorous grower, that will thrive, with decent culture, on any moderately good soil, and is very rarely injured by mildew. At the same time it improves greatly under high culture and pruning. The bush has a slender and even weeping habit of growth, and can be propagated readily by cuttings. From the Houghton have been grown two seedlings that now are justly the most popular.