The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1909-05-15
Edited by F. Walden


How much to thin either peaches or
apples is a hard question to answer
1t is a settled fact that tree will
bring certain amount Of fruit up to
the proper size. This fruit may be
evenly scattered all over the tree or
it may be punched in clusters. In
either case the size attained will be
, about the same. Let me give an
| illustration: Last spring we top
grated all of our remaining Ben
Davis and Missouri Pippin apple
trees. Our rule in such work is to
select from three to five limbs 20 be
grated so that when the remaining
limbs are cut off the tree will have a
we'll balanced head. The other limbs
which are not grated are left on the
trees for one year longer. Last spring
we had nearly 1000 trees of these
two varieties top-wOrked in this way.
Those limbs left on the trees set very
full and we did not thin them at
all except in rare cases where good
deal of the top was left. What was
the result? On all these trees the
apples, though very thick, were
large and fine. They colored
we'll and were as good Ben
Davis and Missouri Pippins
as we ever raised. They kept well,
and l now have some of those Ben
Davis, kept in common cellar, and
they are in fine condition, and this is
April 20. In cases where only about
half the top was cut off in grating,
the trees bore as many boxes Of apples
as the whole tree would have borne.
Two things may be learned by this
illustration: One is that you can do
good deal towards thinning your
fruit by thinning out the tops of the
trees If the tops of the trees are
heavily cut away, the thinning of the
fruit may be omitted l do not be-
lieve that we ordinarily do enough
thinning with our pruning knives.
The other lesson we may learn is that
if the fruit is clustered on one side of
tree or in the top, as is sometimes
the case we may leave it much thicker
than if the fruit was very thick all
over the trees. 1t can be seen that we
can not lay down a hard and fast rule
that fruit must be thinned to a GER
tain distance apart on the trees.
That may be done if the trees are
equally full in all parts.
Sometimes we do not need to do
any thinning at al. Some varieties
of apples have a tendency to thin
themselves. We have over two hun
dred trees of the Mammoth Black
Twig. Some years. they have borne
enormously, some years very lightly,
but I think we have never yet had
to thin this variety. Sometimes our
peaches in our old orchard would all
be killed except in the tops of our
trees. Then we did not thin at all for
the reason just above given, however
thick the peaches might be in the tops.
From all this it can be seen that man
who raises fruit must know his bust
ness and can not work by rule.
Wherever the inexperienced man is at
loss to know what to do, it would
be we'll to consult his neighbors who
have been in the business for years
and they can in most cases help him
to solve his difficulties.
The thinning of fruit is not so
common in the Eastern states as in
the Western. l do not claim any
superiority of the Western grower in
this matter for we were compelled to
thin our fruit. If we compete in the
Eastern markets, we must have finer
grade of fruit, so we were driven to
this thinning by sheer necessity. 1T
was up to us to thin or fail. con-
fess that when I realized that I must
thin my apples, peaches and pears or
fail, I was appalled,. I can see now
why new corners, not accustomed to
thinning their fruit, ask so many ques-
tions. How do you do this thinning?
Do you shake them off or do you
knock them off with pole?" are some
of the questions I have been asked.
When I told these inquirers that 1t
must be done by hand, how often the
question has been asked, as it not an
awful job?" To go over the whole tree
and then go on till the whole orchard
has haan thinnad iS an annallinp ioh