174 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



Influence Upon the Fruit. 



It is the desire of every fruit grower to produce fruit possessing a 

 good size, high color, fine quality and uniformity. Such is usually 

 impossible unless thinning is practiced. 



The size that fruit attains, not taking into consideration the variation 

 due to variety, is influenced more or less by age of trees, stock, soil, 

 climate, cultural methods and the presence of disease or insect pests. 

 Some of these influences may be such as to prevent the production of a 

 desirable size of fruit, but in general our trees will with ordinary care 

 produce fruit of good size, provided that they are not overloaded. The 

 time has passed when we want to place a premium on abnormally large 

 fruit. It is not our purpose to advocate thinning so heavily as to bring 

 about an overgrown condition, but during seasons of big crops to thin 

 to a point where the most desirable size for the variety can be attained. 

 Any one who is at all familiar with the orchard business knows that 

 great losses are often occasioned because of undersized apples, peaches 

 or pears as the case may be, which could have been prevented by atten- 

 tion to thinning. The grower who would make the greatest success of 

 his business must have the kind of fruit that the packer, the canner or 

 the dryer desires. It is hardly necessary to say that none of these can 

 pay much for undersized fruit. 



The desirability of producing good color is unquestioned. Not only 

 does this please the eye but also adds to quality. A rosy red Winesap 

 or Baldwin apple will be sweet and juicy with a flavor to suit the most 

 delicate palate, while the same varieties grown on the same trees, but 

 uncolored, will be scarcely relished. Leaving out of consideration the 

 fact that color influences quality in the variety, the beautiful red apple, 

 or the rosy cheeked peach will command higher prices on the market 

 than better varieties without color. 



While size, color and quality must all be taken into consideration in 

 ' the growing of deciduous fruits there is probably nothing more desir- 

 able than uniformity, and in no way can this condition be brought 

 about better than by thinning; in fact, it is impossible during seasons 

 of large crops at least to secure uniformity in size in any other way. 

 The greatest a^:■gument in favor of thinning, as far as the fruit alone 

 is concerned, is based on the above statement. A lack of uniformity 

 complicates standardization methods and all the operations of packing 

 and is not at all desirable in the canning and drying business. If by 

 thinning, fruit can be made to average well in size a considerable outlay 

 of money is justifiable for the operation. 



Another argument in favor of thinning which applies to the apple at 

 least has to do with the presence of the M^orst insect pest of this fruit, 

 viz, the codling moth. If apples are allowed to grow in clusters so 

 that they are touching one another the larvae not only take advantage 

 of the ideal point of entry between the apples, but the sprayer is placed 

 at a decided disadvantage, for he finds it extremely difficult to get the 

 spray where it will be eaten by the worms. Varieties that have a ten- 

 dency to cluster are nearly always riddled by codling moth if the 

 pest is present in large numbers, unless the clusters are broken up by 

 thinning. 



