Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/780

* CURRAN. 672 CURRANT-INSECTS. Jliddle Temple. He was called to tlie Irish bar in 1775, and soon won success by his ability and social qualities. He was an expert cross-exam- iner and possessed a thorough acquaintance with, ex'cry intricacy of the cunning native mind. In 1782 he became member for Kilbeggan in the Irish Parliament and supported a liberal policy. ]lis sarcasm led him into several fortunately harmless duels. In 1788 he favored the forma- tion of an Irish volunteer army corps, and elo- quently protested against the English policy which led to the rebellion of 1798. His fearless defense of the leaders at the State trials, and Kobert Emmet's affection for his daughter, the heroine of !Moore"s pathetic poem, led to Curran's examination before the Privy Council, but he was fouid guiltless of complicity. He bitterly opposed the Union, as the 'annihilation of Ire- land'; and its consummation, crowding on do- mestic trouble, seriously impaired his health. After the death of Pitt, Fox appointed him Mas- ter of the Rolls with a seat in the Privy Council. He held the oflice from 1806-13, and retired on a pension. As a distinguished man among the brilliant men of the period, he spent the last three years of his life in London, where he died, October 14, 1817. His memory is preserved by excellent examples of sparkling wit and repar- tee found in various memoirs. Consult: Phil- lips, Recollections of Ciirrcoi and His Contempo- raries (London, 1850) ; Curran, Life of Curran (London, 1819; New York, 1855); Stephens, Memoir (London, 1817) ; O'Regan, Memoir (London, 1817) : and Curran's Speeches, with a Life, edited by Davis (Dublin, 1855). CURRANT (Fr. corinthe, It. corintho. cur- rant, from Lat. Corinthus, Gk. KSpivSos, Korin- ihos, Corinth ; so called a.s being originally ex- ported from that city). A name used to desig- nate some fruits of the genus Yitis, as well as both the plant and fruit of the genus Ribes. Originally this term seems to have been applied to the small raisins which are now a common commercial article much used in cookery. In general the term currant is applied to both the plant and fruit of those species of the genus Ribes that have no thorns and bear their fruits in bimches or clusters like grapes. Ribes ru- brum may be taken as a type. This group is found chiefly in the northern half of the north temperate zone. In Europe it is wild, and occurs in England and on the Continent as far north as Kamchatka, although it is not found in the Mediterranean countries. In America it is found in Canada, and both eastern and western L'nited States. Having a northern origin, it has proved a most valuable plant in 'the Northwest, where few cultivated fruits thrive without protection. The currant is found in almost every fruit gar- den tliroiighout the northern United States and Canada, and is cultivated to a considerable ex- tent commercially. Ribes rubrum, from which our red and white varieties are derived, is the most important mem- ber of this group, both in America and Europe. ( For illustration, see Plate of Cypress. ) It grows best on a strong, moist loam, with a northern ex- posure or partial shade. For this reason it is often planted in orchards and on the north side of buildings. It is generally propagated by hard- wood cuttings, six to ten inches long, taken in the early fall. The plants are set about four feet apart in rows six feet apart. Frequent and shal- low cultivation is given, and good results are often secured by mulching. Not much pruning is required. The old wood should be thinned out each year, none over three years old being al- lowed to remain. Red varieties are the ones chiefly grown for market. The white sorts are sweeter, but not so popular. Both white and red varieties are extensively used in the preparation of jellies and jams, and for wine-making. Black curi'ants (Tiihes nigrum) are little grown in the United States, but are extensivcl_v cultivated in Canada and in Europe, especially in Scotland. A kind of liquor {liqueur de cassis) is made in large quantities from them in France. The raw fruit has an unpleasant odor and flavor, which becomes agreeable only by scalding. It possesses medicinal properties and is used as a tonic and in throat troubles. Ribes Americanum, the Western representative of the black currant, possesses all its good quali- ties and is more ornamental. Another American species very generally met with in ornamental plantations, ider tlie name of flowering cur- rant, or golden currant, is Ribes aureum. It has been lately placed upon the market as a fi'uit plant under the name of Crandall currant; its fruit is of good quality, but it is a small bearer. The red-flowered currant (liihrs sanguincum), now so common as an ornamental bush in shrub- beries, and trained on walls, producing in April a profusion of deep-red flowers in large drooping racemes, is a native of northwestern America, and was introduced into Great Britain in 1826. Its bluish-black, mucilaginous, insipid berries are not poisonous, as is popularly believed. An- other currant, with beautiful red berries, larger than the largest English red currant, occurs on the Himalayas, at an elevation of 13,000 feet. The name native currant, or Australian currant, is given in Australia to the berries of dift'erent shrubs, particularly the white beiTies of Leuco- pogon Richei, of the natural order Epacridacese. Other fruits bearing the same name are pro- duced by species of Coprosma (natural order Cinchonaceje ), but they are very inferior. Currant Diseases. — Two diseases of the cur- rant are well known in the United States, and they both occur in Europe and elsewhere. The anthracnose, caused b_y, Glffosporium ribis, at- tacks the leaves, causing small black spots ori the upper side, and later white areas on the under surface ; the leaves turn yellow and fall from the bushes. The leaf-spot, due to Septoria ribis, occurs as whitish spots with black centres, which spread over the leaf, causing it to fall prema- turely, the whole bush being bare by late sum- mer. These diseases can be prevented by the jjroper use of any standard fungicide (q.v. ). CURRANT-INSECTS. Currants are most injured by the caterpillar-like larv;T?. called 'cur- rant-worms.' of two sawflies (q.v.). One. of foreign origin, is Nematus ribesii, and the other, a native, is Pristiphora grossulari.-e. Both are fully described and treated of bj' Professor Riley in his ?^inth Report on the Insects of Missouri, and hellebore is reconunended as a remedj'. Tliese defoliate the plant. Its stem and roots are at- tacked by scale-insects and by two borers of note. One is the caterpillar of a small wasp-like regeriid moth or clearwing (.ICgei-ia tipulifor- mis) ; the other is a small, black, sparsely spotted, long-horned beetle (Psenoccrus superno- tatus). It lays its eggs on the currant-stems