New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 313 



would undoubtedly sell for a greater advance in price over the 

 unthinned fruit than it would when sold in barrels in the ordinary 

 way. But even when put upon the ordinary market in barrels 

 there are doubtless times when the superior fruit would bring 

 more than the ordinary ruling prices. This would be more apt 

 to occur if the superior fruit could be furnished in large quan- 

 tities. ^ 



This suggests the question whether local associations of apple 

 growers might not be formed for the purpose of grading and 

 marketing their fruit. Well grown, thinned and sprayed apples 

 might be uniformly graded and given the brand of the associa- 

 tion. Under good management it would seem that a good repu- 

 tation might be established for certain superior grades of fruit 

 which could be supplied in quantities sufficiently large to com- 

 mand enough of an advance over ordinary prices to make the 

 enterprise profitable notwithstanding the extra expense of pro- 

 ducing such fruit. 



The question whether thinning apples may be profitable or 

 .not involves other considerations besides the market value of the 

 fruit, and it will be considered separately. 



4, HAS THINNING INFLUENCED THE REGULARITY OR THE 

 AMOUNT OF FRUIT PRODUCTION? 



When the trees under experiment were paired for comparison 

 those were chosen for each pair which appeared to be about 

 equally productive; but before proceeding to make comparisons 

 as to productiveness it may be well to call attention to the fact 

 that no two trees, even though they be of the same age, same vari- 

 ety, and growing in the same orchard, are exactly alike in respect 

 to regularity and extent of productiveness. These may be modi- 

 fied by the stock upon which the tree is grown, by methods of 

 training, management, etc., but they are also infliuenced by en- 

 vironment, and no two trees have the same environment. To 

 a certain extent the degree of productiveness is a variety charac- 

 teristic, but it also seems to be a permanent characteristic of the 

 individual tree, as determined by the various factors above men- 



