If
this is done judiciously, no other variety will bear more
profusely or present a fairer object on a July day.
The White Dutch has the well-known characteristics in growth of
the common Red Dutch currant, and is inferior only to the White
Grape in size. The fruit is equally transparent, beautiful, mild,
and agreeable in flavor, while the bush is enormously productive,
and shapely in form, if properly trained and fertilized.
While the white currants are such favorites, I do not undervalue
the red. Indeed, were I restricted to one variety, it should be
the old Dutch Red of our fathers, or, more properly, of our
grandmothers. For general house uses I do not think it has yet
been surpassed. It is not so mild in flavor as the white
varieties, but there is a richness and sprightliness in its acid
that are grateful indeed on a sultry day. Mingled with the white
berries, it makes a beautiful dish, while it has all the culinary
qualities which the housekeeper can desire. If the bush is
rigorously pruned and generously enriched, it is unsurpassed in
productiveness, and the fruit approaches very nearly to the Cherry
currant in size.
I do not recommend the last-named kind for the home garden, unless
large, showy fruit counts for more than flavor. The acid of the
Cherry currant, unless very ripe, is harsh and watery.
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