The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-12-28
Changing the Bearing Year.

The question Is frequently asked, "If
/ pick the blossoms all off from o bloom
ing tree In the bearing year, viii. &c blos-
sora and bear fruit on the foIoFing soff'i
,yearr' We once asked thst question Of
an apple-tree upon our own grounds,
which was filed with blosson1s. Tie
tree was q Gravenstein, vsriety that
zripens it fruit so early in the-Sekson
that the trees have some time, f4te in
the season, for developing and maturing
fruit buds after the present years crop
is gathered, and on this account We
may look with more confidence to such
varieties for fruit every year than from
late varieties which draw upon the VI
tality of the tree through the entire sea-
SON. The tree had been in bearing some
af-dozen years or more, and was large
enough to mature two or three barrels
of fruit. When the young apples were
about as large as ripe shagbark walnuts,
or perhaps an inch in diameter, boy
was put into the tree with pair OF scis-
sors, and instructed to take of every
apple, and being pretty faithful boy,
he made very thorough work, not moro
than q couple of dozen specimens being
overlooked. These were of unusually
large size at harvest time, but the num-
Der was too small TO injure the tree for
the next years. fruiting, as the bloom
ON the following spring amply proved.
Among hundred trees in the orchard,
none equaled this in the prufusion OF its
beautiful large petals, for which this va
riety Is noticeable. Pollination was per-
feet, and the fruit set quite as full a.
on the previous spring of the bear.
ing year. But it might as , well
not have bloomed,r 50 far as pro-
ducing q crop was concerned. BY the
time the young apples were as large rs
on the previous year, when the cutting
out process was performed, there was
probably not a single specimen that had
escaped the attentions of the fe-
male curculio, and in some apples
that were particularly noticed could be
counted as many as twenty 1--WE crescent
shaped punctures where this insect had
broken the skin to deposit an egg,
which in q few days was 20 hatch into .
small worm, to go through the fruit and
| prevent all further natural development.
And this, we believe, win usually be
the experience Of those who attempt 10
change the bearing year of single tree,
or of few trees In large orchard,
particularly If no special efforts are
made the year previous, further than TO
gnln Out OF cntiIcAy romofo INC sewing
| fruit 20 After this experience, and others
like it, the philosophy of the bearing
and non-bearing years seems as plain
and simple as the swinging of . pendu-
lum. Any tree, like the Baldwin apple,
! which inclines to overbear, that Is, to
produce more fruit than the strength Of
the tree can carry out TO perfection, and
maintain growth Of wood and the de,
velopment Of frrit buds for the succeed
ing year, must have alternate years OF
rest. The oldest inhabitant can not re-
member when great bearers produced
full crops every year, though he can re-
member that formerly the bearing and
non-bearing years were much less re-
markable than at present. Within the
past decade or two the pendulum seems
to have been vibrating with an unusual
amount of power. = Netc England
| Farmer.