298 Peach-Growing 



As to the cost of thinning, it is more largely apparent than 

 real, though some have argued against thinning because of 

 the cost. Under reasonably favorable conditions very little 

 of the fruit that is on the trees when the thinning is done 

 would drop prematurely. Therefore, if it is not picked and 

 thrown on the ground at thinning time, it will have to be 

 picked and put in a basket at harvest time. Hence not to 

 thin merely postpones the time when the fruit is picked. 

 Obviously on a well-loaded tree, a bushel of peaches in which 

 there were 140 fruits could be picked, graded, and packed 

 much more quickly and economically than one in which 

 there were 260 fruits. 



When the thinning is properly and wisely done, results 

 similar to these illustrations are habitually obtained. 



2. While the effect of thinning on color is not capable of 

 so tangible illustration as the effect on size, the influence has 

 been habitually noted, the fruit on trees that are not over- 

 loaded being markedly better colored than on overloaded 

 trees. 



3. Generally speaking, almost any plump, fully developed, 

 good-sized fruit is of better flavor than one that is small 

 because of the unfavorable competition under which it is 

 developed. This factor, however, has less commercial 

 importance than items 1 and 2, since the market price is 

 fixed largely by size and color. 



4. The influence on uniformity of ripening is doubtless 

 somewhat variable, but in some cases it is possible to gather 

 all the fruit from a properly thinned tree at one picking, 

 whereas two and three pickings, at least, are usual. To 

 affect appreciably the uniformity of ripening, considerable 

 care is presupposed in selecting the fruits that are to remain 

 on the tree when thinning is done. 



