Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/589

 CURRANT 585 sidered one of the wittiest men of his age. In 1817 he had an attack of apoplexy, and on Oct. 8 a second fit, of which he died the week following. His speeches have been often pub- lished. See "Memoirs of the Legal, Literary, and Political Life of the Rt. Hon. John Philpot Curran," by William O'Regan (1817), and " The Life of the Right Hon. John Philpot Curran," by his son William Henry Curran (1819). CURRANT (ribes, Linn.), the name of a small, valuable, and well known garden fruit, of which there are numerous varieties. Two principal species are commonly known, but there are several others. The R. rubrum (Willd.), according to Persoon, grows sponta- neously in Sweden and in the northern parts of England, and is the origin of the garden kinds. It bears abundance of semi-transparent red berries in racemes, which diminish in size at the apex of the bunch. There is a white- fruited variety, more esteemed by some on ac- count of its less acid juice. Great improve- ments have been made on these fruits by re- peated experiments, and not only has the plant been rendered more robust, but the size of the berries has been increased. Of the many sorts, the red Dutch and the white Dutch, known also under many synonymes, have stood high in the estimation of practical gardeners. Knight succeeded in raising some improved kinds from seed, favorably known and bearing his name. It has been thought that the red cur- rant is a native of North America, an opinion founded on its identity with the R. albiner- vium of Michaux. According to the "Flora of North America," the red currant appears to be " abundant in our northern latitudes, agree- ing in every respect with the European form." banks of the Winooski in Vermont. Josselyn, who wrote in 1672, makes mention in his "New England Rarities" of "red and black currants." The black currant (R. nigrum, Eed Currant. It occurs throughout Canada to the mouth of Mackenzie river, at Sault Ste. Marie, and at the sources of St. Croix river (Torrey and Gray). It has been noticed growing wild on the rocky Black Currant. Lam.), differing from the common currant in the great size of the plant, in smoother leaves, in flower and in fruit, also in possessing a pow- erful aromatic principle with proportionately less acidity, has by successive experiments be- come ranked with the most valuable of the smaller garden fruits. The variety known as the black Naples has larger berries than any other, and is considered the best. The fetid currant (R. prostratum, L'Heritier), with pale red and bristly fruit, exhaling, as well as the leaves, a disagreeable odor, grows on mountain sides and in cold woods at the north- ward, reaching as far as Lake Superior and the Rocky mountains. The thirsty wayfarer and the hunter, on meeting with its berries, find them not too unpleasant for refreshment. The R. floridum (L'Her.), with rather large yellow-greenish flowers, and with smooth, black fruit, occurring in woods from Canada to Kentucky, is our native black currant, but is inferior in value to the European species. The Missouri currant (JR. aureum, Pursh) is remarkable for its early yellow blossoms, ex- haling a delicious, spicy odor, and considered a highly ornamental shrub. The red-flowering currant (R. sanguineum, Ph.), from western America, and abundant among rocks along the streams throughout Oregon, is a very beautiful shrub, bearing clusters of light crimson blos- soms, which appear early in spring. Its fruit is insipid, but its flowers recommend it for the garden. Another, with flowers not so brightly colored (R. malvaceum, Sm.), has been noticed as a native of California. The genus ribes, em- bracing the gooseberries, comprises in North America something like 28 distinct species. The propagation of the currant is easy, as it will grow in almost any garden soil, in the