3IO Report of the Horticultural Department of the 



It would also be well to ask 



5. Which method of thinning gives best results? 



6. Is it profitable to thin apples? 



In these experiments no tests of the keeping qualities of the 

 thinned as compared with the unthinned fruit was made. It 

 appears to be the general opinion of those who have had experi- 

 ence in keeping apples that very large or overgrown specimens 

 of apples do not keep so well as those of normal size and firmer 

 texture. This is a subject which is worthy of careful investiga- 

 tion. As a rule consumers show a preference for the larger fruit. 



Each of the subjects above mentioned will now be considered. 



I. DOES THINNING AFFECT THE COLOR OF THE FRUIT? 



With Baldwin under the first method the thinned fruit in 1896 

 was higher colored than the corresponding unthinned fruit. 

 (See p. 298.) In 1898 it was again better colored than the 

 unthinned Baldwins. (See p. 298.) Baldwin and Greening under 

 the second method of thinning produced fruit of distinctly 

 superior color in 1896. (See p. 300.) Again in 1898 similar re- 

 sults were seen with Baldwin, but not with Greening, because 

 the Greenings bore a very light crop. (See p. 304.) In 1899 

 similar results were seen (p. 305). 



With Hubbardston under the third method the superior color 

 of the thinned fruit in 1896 was especially noticeable (p. 308). 

 In 1897 it was likewise clearly superior in color (p. 308). Again 

 in 1898 the thinned fruit was well colored, while the color of 

 the unthinned fruit was only fair (p. 308). With Greening under 

 the third method but one crop was obtained, viz., that of 1897. 

 The crop was comparatively light and no clear distinction could 

 be made in the color of the two lots of fruit (p. 308). 



In general whenever the trees were well loaded with fruit it 

 was found that thinning improved the color of the fruit. Both 

 red and yellow hues were heightened and tended to be more 

 brilliant when the fruit was harvested than they were on the cor- 

 responding unthinned fruit. Where the fruit was borne sparsely 

 and really required little thinning, or none at all, the thinning 

 had practically no appreciable influence on the color of the fruit. 



