Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1914-05-12
AMONG THE FARMERS.
"sPEED THE PLow."

Correspondence on practical agricultural topic
is solicited. Address all communications In
tended for this department to HENRY
HAMMOND. Agricultural Editor Oxford Dem
ocrat. Paris. Ne.
Thinning and Picking Fruit.
bliss S. Brown, Professor Of Horticulture, II
( Farmers Week.
Professor Brown says that it pays tt
thin fruit, because the fruit left on the
tree will grow larger and the tree viii
have greater energy to grow fruit ths
next year. He gave statistics to back
up these statements, cited varieties that
will respond best to this treatment and
also outlined methods. The substance
of his address follows:
The proper thinning of fruit Is the firsi
step in the harvesting operation. When
correctly done in the earlier stages II
saves considerable time in the latter.
THE principle on which the thinning OF
fruit is based is to develop larger and
better fruit without corresponding loss
of vigor or health of the tree. Many
trees will set more fruit than they can
possibly develop to good size and all of
the energy goes into the fruit, while
the development Of fruit buds for the
next years crop is correspondingly
weakened; hence great many fruit
trees bear only every other year. BY
proper thinning the fruit will develop to
a good size and the trees will have suf6-
cient energy 10 mature crop OF fruit
buds for the succeeding year. In this
way many trees which have habit OF
bearing only every other year, are made
to bear every year, thus adding mate
rally to the desirability of the fruit.
The effort of every plant is to repro
duce it's kind, and everything that weak
ems the tree tends to increase the devel-
opment of seed. Hence we often have
diseased condition of trees which makes
them set a much larger crop OF fruit
than they would ordinarily. If this crop
is large, the effort of the tree is thrown
into seed production with correspond
ing loss to the tieshy part. II a number
of the fruit are picked off the surplus
energy that would go into the develop
ment of seed would increase the total
quantity of the ieshy part.
All good fruit must be picked by
hand. IL some of this work can be done
early in the season, when the fruit may
simply be dropped on the ground, il will
save considerable time and money. If
at the same time the fall picking will
yield as large quantity of fruit as II
the thinning had not been done, its i'm
portance will have been established.
Numerous experiments have been made
TO demonstrate Just what this difference
would amount To and the average of the
various experiments show that In the
long run the yield will be increased
about five TO ten percent and the per
centags of first quality fruit Increased
from ten to twenty-five percent. In near
iy every case this increase IN quality be-
comes very noticeable, while the In
increase IN quantity is not always so ap-
parent
Just what time to thin fruit and what
kinds and varieties need most attention,
will depend largely upon local condi-
tions. Young trees, from hve TO ten
years of age, should not be allowed TO
Overbesr. If a large crop is set, 1t should
be thinned down, TO what the branches
will support and to what the fertility OF
the soil will bring TO the best size. va
rieties of apples that are normally small
are helped but little by thinning because
the big markets do not like an underslz-
ed apple. Varieties like the Tolman
Sweet, Roxbury Russet, or some OF the
early summer apples are not usually De-
nefited much by thinning. But the lsrg
er sized apples which will pack nicely
In boxes are the ones To which the most
attention should be paid.
Apples that are packed in boxes must
be of uniform size, and should average
not less than two and one-haf inches III
diameter. After judging the capacity OF
the tree and the fertility of the soil, the
crop should be thinned SO that msjori-
ty of the apples will develop To this de-
sirable size. Such apples will make
three and one-half or four tier PACK
which is the ideal pack for box WORK.
The Baldwin, Ben Davis, Spitzenourg,
Yellow Newton, Yellow Bellehower,
Rhode Island Greening and Northern
SPY are few of the apples that lend
themselves best To the standard box
pack. And if the trees are thinned SO
as to make the apples grow TO the right
size, a very decided benefit Will result.
Our western ueighbors on the Pacific
coast have prscticed this method Tor
several years, and have found that IT
pays well.
Old trees which have become very
large or ragged, are not usually thinned
very much, but even in such cases, II
sometimes pays to do so. But especial
ly on trees from five to ten years OF age,
thinning should be one of the regular or
chard operations.
The methods of thinning would Dc,
briefly as follows: First, the pruning IN
the spring does certain amount OF
thinning. Second, the June drop which
takes off the surplus of young fruit that
NAV have been fertilized but which tue
energies of the tree would not allow TO
develop. The third process is the thin-
ming by band which usually takes place
when the young apples are about one
half inch in diameter. These should %
removed by hand both on young trees,
and on the smaller twigs of older trees.
The apples left should not be closer than
four inches. No two apples should %
allowed to grow in the same cluster.
Those showing worms or diseased con-
ditions can also be removed at this Time.
The apples picked off are simply allow
ed to drop on the ground where they are
plo we'd under or better still raked up
and destroyed, so as to dispose OF insect