Sharp County record., 1885-08-06
THINNING OUT FRUIT.
A Process That Must Be Resorted 10
the Product Be Satisfactory.

the Product Be Satisfactory
This operation is of equal Importance
with pruning or attention to the soil;
vet how few are aware of it, and fewer
still disposed to practice it! 1t is pity
to them to see the fruit cut down, and
the task seems out of proportion to the
profit to be derived from it, if indeed
there is any profit; which is very much
doubted. SO the trees are allowed to
overbear, and the fruit to remain small
and of inferior quality, the unrelleVed
strain tending to and establishing blen-
NAL fruiting.
Now, as such fruit is of reduced val
lie, and almost worthless as a market
fruit, why not experiment a little, II
only with single tree, or even but a
part of the tree, which is certainly no
difficult task, taking but few minutes
of time? But let the test be carried
far enough to get the full benefit, which
REQUIRES the removal of from two-thlrds
to three -fourths of the fruit if the tree IS
prolific bearer. The difficulty usual
ly is in not removing enough. When
closely set, let not less than three
fourths be removed, leaving the remain
inc fruit equally distributed through
the tree. The result will be about the
same amount of fruit as if left unthin-
ned. and so improved as to seem an
other sort in flavor and quality, as well
as in size, which will be three or four
times as large as if left unthinned, cor
spending to the proportion removed. 1t
will also be found that the work is not
near so arduOuS as was supposed. Use
a convenient ladder, and thin out by
hand removing the inferior specimens
The proper time to do this is when the
fruit has attained about the size OF a
cherry among quite small growing
sorts; otherwise a little larger. Even
when thinning is neglected till the fruit
is half grown, it will be labor well
spent to thin out: but for fair test it
should be done early.
As is well known, there is a great
difference in the bearing quality OF
trees; and we find this feature-that
the shy bearers have usually large fruit,
and the prolific small. 1t is impossible
for the latter TO grow their numerous
specimens as large as the fruit OF the
former. But if thinned out so as to
equal the other in distribution, there
will be much less difference in the size
of the fruit
If to thinning is added free pruning OF
| the branches and attention to the soil,
improvement may be carried to the eX-
tent of materially changing the
character of the fruit, making OF poor
variety comparatively good one, not
only with young trees, which seem
more susceptible of change in this re-
spect, but old neglected ones, which it
is not generally difficult to rejuvenate,
and give new lease of life, with the
fruit improved far beyond what the
former usually bad treatment Afforded
No highly prolific tree has sufficient
vigor to grow the fruit large; the de-
mand is simply too great, and the strain
is hurtful to the tree, consisting mainly
of the trees effort to grow and mature
its seed This it will do or fail. And
this concentration upon the seed is at
the expense of the remainder OF the
fruit, affecting its size and quality. The
core will remain much the same. If
the demand here is lessened, which it
will be by the reduction of the number
of cores or specimens of fruit, the lib
Grated force of the tree will be en-
ployed, among other things, in growing
the flesh and improving the flavor and
quality of the fruit, leaving the tree at
the same time in healthy condition.
+. G., IN Country Gentleman.