296 agricuIvTure; of mains. 



wasting time and energy in the discussion of the subject, take 

 the time to try the experiment. 



When a too heavy crop is set, the fruit should be thinned to 

 at least one apple to a cluster, or if the clusters are near together 

 leave the apples not nearer than four or six inches of each other, 

 depending on the variety. 



The thinning should be done by hand when the fruit is not 

 over one inch in diameter, or perhaps a month after the apples 

 have set. Remove all small or deformed fruit leaving only the 

 best to grow. The time required for this extra work added 

 to the time employed in the fall picking would be some greater 

 than it would be to let the whole remain and pick the total crop 

 in the fall. The yield of the thinned fruit would not be as great 

 in number of barrels but it would contain more number one 

 apples, and that is the prize to be aimed at. 



APPLE storage;. 



There is no doubt but that cold storage for our apples has 

 come to be a necessity if we would get the best returns from 

 our orchard. 



If the crop must be unloaded in the fall, of course it means 

 a glut in the market on an apple year. There are generally 

 enough early fall apples to furnish the market at that time, so 

 that provision must be made by the orchardist to hold his winter 

 supply until there is a demand for them. By proper care and 

 sufficient knowledge of the business it is possible to hold the 

 crop by means of cold storage so as to have a supply of this 

 favorite fruit during the whole year, and thus secure a good 

 price for the product. 



KEEPING QUALITIES. 



There are many conditions to be considered in the problem 

 of packing apples for cold storage. It has been stated that 

 apples grown on sod land will keep better and show a better 

 color than when under cultivation. This may be so in some 

 instances but not as a rule, for color may be regulated to a 

 certain extent by chemicals. There may be a difference in 

 flavor but the extra size in tilled fruit will more than make up 

 the balance. The same is true of apples grown on a light loam 

 as compared with those grown on a heavy soil. All other con- 



