Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1906-06-28
APPLE EXPERT
ON HOW TO DO II
Thinning and Simmer
Pruning Insures big Sym
etriCal Fruit and
Kills Worms.

from Hood River, Oregon, has taken
charge for the season of the famous
Fremont Wood orchard, near Boise.
He talks entertainingly and in
structively on the subject of apple
culture to the Statesman, as follows:
There are two features to which
especial attention will be given Dy
Mr.. Brock-thinning and summer
pruning.
In the thinning of the apples, the
aim will be to leave one on each
fruit spur, and the object is to in
crease the size Of, the apples. In the
orchard at Hood River in which
Mr. Brock lis interested they thin
twice. At the second thinning
they aim to get distance OF about
six inches between the apples.
The main purpose of that, however,
is to keep out the worms. When
two apples come together the worms
will almost. certainly get into them
at the point of contact. Therefore
they are thinned to such space as
suggested, some of the fruit spurs
being relieved entirely.
This excessive thinning, MIR.
Brock thinks, is not necessary in
the Wood orchard, as, from his OBJ
servations last fall, he is satisfied
the worms are not nearly SO bad
here as at home.
He does not think it contributes
to the size of an apple to have one
removed that is on another spur.
However, he will thin some trees
in that manner as an experiment.
The object of this thinning is to
increase the size of the apples. A
tree that has been carefully thinned
will fill as many, generally more,
boxes than it would had all the
fruit been left. The apples are not
only smaller when the thinning is
not done, but they are irregular ir
size and are constantly dropping,
owing to their crowded condition,
whereas, when the tree is thinned
the fruit is much more uniform il
size and does not drop to any grea
extent.
The ultimate object of all this
work is to secure better prices fo
the fruit. First class apples always
command a high price. That il
especially true of these western
orchards. Amy grower here VIII,
will produce first class fruit an,
pack it properly can get high pric'
for it, irrespective of the size of tn
crop elsewhere. The large apples
will command perhaps as much a
dollar a box more than smalle
ones or those of irregular size
With ordinary apples going begging
at 81 box in a heavy crop year
such apples as can be produced her
by careful work will command a
much as So so.
Mr.. Brock has already started
crew at thinning. He employ
women for this work, they bein
much more careful than men.
Summer pruning is recommends
by all the authorities, but only
few of the growers adopt it, eve
in such section as Hood River
The points of limbs are cut off an
what are called water suckers trim
med out. Further, the aim is I
open up the tree so the air and ligt
can get at the fruit better and thu
do their work of putting upon
the fine color that characterizes ar
Piles grown in this land of sunshin,
The trimming, besides lettir
light and air in upon the frui
checks the wood growth and caus,
the tree to start a greater numb.
of fruit spurs for the crop of II
next season. 1t also increases Il
size of the apples. The cutting
the water suckers likewise has tn
effect, as it sends the sap tn
would have been lost on them in
other portions of the tree where Il
fruit is hanging.
Scientific apple culture on lar
scale would be of vast benefit
this valley. 1t has been demo
strated that fruit can be produc
in quality that cannot be excell
and that il will always command
high price. There is room for
thousand orchards like Mr.. Wood
The owners, pursuing the busine
intelligently and scientificall
would reap rich rewards. Nor
over, the fact of there being a gre
number of such orchards wot
make them all more valuable tn
were there but few. Mr.. Wooc
orchard, for instance, would
worth more were there a hundr
or more like il That is hecat