Mar. 2, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 207 



over — that is, after the drop which occurs when the stone is forming. Some- 

 times this drop is sufficient thinning in itself, in which case it is not necessarjr 

 to thin further; but if too large a quantity of fruit has set, then it must be 

 thinned. No hard-and-fast rules can be laid down for thinning apricots,, 

 the quantity to be left depending on the soil, climate, and the vigour of th& 

 tree. In some cases at least three-quarters of the fruit must be removed, 

 and even then the tree will have as many fruits left as it can mature properly ;. 

 whereas in other cases only a very slight thinning, or none at all, is necessarv. 

 The more vigorous the tree and the better the soil, the more fruit it is able to- 

 mature. The fruit-grower must use his own judgment in the matter, and if 

 he is an observant man he will soon learn how much fruit the tree is capable 

 of producing properly, and when and how much a tree requires to be thinned.. 

 In thinning, gather the fruit ; do not knock it of? with poles. Pull off all 

 the smallest fruit, and thin evenly all over the tree, not all on one side and 

 none on the other. The strain on the tree's energies is very much reduced 

 by thinning, and the quantity of plant-food removed from the soil by the- 

 croj) is very much lessened. It takes much more out of the land to form the 

 stone than it does to form the fleshy portion of the fruit, because the kernel 

 of stone-fruits always makes a heavy call on the soil for phosphoric acid and 

 nitrogen — the two principal plant-foods that have to be kept up in the soil 

 by manuring. The extra prices obtained will more than pay for tlie 

 expense of thinning. 



Gathering the Fruit. 



The purpose to which the fruit is to be devoted determines the stage of 

 ripeaiess at which it should be gathered. When required for drying it shcnild 

 be allowed to become thoroughly ripe, but not dead ripe or mushy, as then it 

 will not keep its shape when cut ; on the other hand, if gathered too green 

 the fruit will dry light and be acid, as the sugar is not fully developed. For 

 canning, the fruit must be gathered whilst still firm, just before the softening 

 takes place, or it will not keep its shape whilst cooking ; and for shipping long 

 distances or for pulping it must be gathered even sooner. Gather the^^ 

 fruit carefully and do not bruise it any more than you can help ; use step- 

 ladders and do not get into the tree if you can avoid it, as if you do you 

 destroy numbers of fruit-spurs along the main branches or just where the- 

 tree can bear most fruit without injury. Some Californian fruit-growers 

 advocate shaking the fruit off into large sheets in a similar manner to prunes, 

 but it bruises the fruit too much. It works well with prunes, which have a 

 tough skin, but it spoils a number of apricots, and the extra expense of picking 

 is made good by the extra value of the fruit. When gathered for drying, 

 the fruit should be carried in the picking boxes direct to the cutting tables, 

 so that there is as little handling as possible; and where the cannery is close 

 to the orchard, the same method should be adopted. For sending long 

 distances, or even to the local markets, the fruit should always be evenly 

 graded and packed. 



